![]() ![]() On 11 January, I noticed a female Daddy Long-legs spider carrying her spherical bundle of eggs on our toilet wall, about 18 cm above floor level (Fig. Early in 2017, I had the good fortune to observe three events in the lives of these creatures, one in January/February, one in March, and the other in April. 1) or moving from one location to another. Spiderlings emerge after two to three weeks (Bristowe 1958) or 23 to 31 days (Uhl 1998), and the mother spider stays with them for about nine days before they disperse and fend for themselves (University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web).ĭaddy Long-legs are the commonest spiders in our house, but are rarely seen doing anything apart from hanging in their webs (sometimes feeding from prey, including other Daddy Long-legs, as in Fig. The open mesh is sufficient because the eggs stick slightly to one another in the form of a small sphere (Savory 1926). After laying her eggs, the female surrounds them with an open mesh of spider silk, and holds them with her chelicerae (Main 1976). ![]() They generally mature and mate in summer. The male lives for up to one year (Michalik and Uhl 2005).ĭaddy Long-legs spiders go through five moults before they reach maturity (Bristowe 1958). The lifespan can vary from three months to two years (Museum Victoria website) or about three years (University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web). When disturbed in its web, it responds by setting up a very fast spinning motion so that its outline becomes blurred (Bristowe 1958). It also feeds on slaters (woodlice) (Savory 1926 Child 1968). ![]() It builds an untidy web, in which it hangs upside down, and feeds mainly on insects and spiders, including its own species. It lives near humans, and is commonly found in dark areas inside constructions such as houses, garages and sheds (Walker et al. With its small body and long spindly legs, this spider is easy to recognise. 2003) from Europe (Main 1976) and is often referred to as 'cosmopolitan' (e.g. This species is believed to have been introduced to Australia (Walker et al. The Daddy Long-legs spider, also known as the Cellar spider or Long-bodied Cellar spider, was first recorded for science 242 years ago by Swiss entomologist Johann Kaspar Fussli, as 'Pholcus phalangioides (Fuesslin, 1775)', and was the only spider he described (Wikipedia website). ![]()
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