Which do you call a daddy long legs? WARNING pics!

[sirrahved]

Is this a daddy long legs? This one?


Or this one?

Or both? If you only call one a daddy long legs... then what do you call the other?

[Desert Arabian]

The second picture with the two spiders, those are NOT daddy long legs, I know that for sure, but I don't know what they truthfully are- because I hate spiders and don't "study" them. The first one on a leaf, that IS a daddy long leg.

[sirrahbed]

I think the second one is what I call daddy long legs but the top one is creepy too and I would squish both of them - well no I would call dad to do it!
I think they are BOTH daddy long legs!

[sirrahved]

I've been wondering about this ever since I watched a Mythbusters about the whole "daddy long legs are the most poisonous spider but can't bite people" myth. I always thought the round one was a DLL (don't make me type it again!) because of their body structure being unlike a spider. They used the skinny one. I know for a fact that the skinny ones bite... they've bitten me before! If you google DLL you get BOTH pictures.

[Desert Arabian]

Originally posted by sirrahved
I've been wondering about this ever since I watched a Mythbusters about the whole "daddy long legs are the most poisonous spider but can't bite people" myth.

So is that myth true? What did the mythbusters say? I've always thought it was false.

[K9soul]

The first one is what I always think to be a daddy longlegs. I can't recall the "real" name for them at the moment, but I do remember that they are not actually a spider at all, but more in the mite family, and are totally harmless.

I've watched some of the Mythbuster's shows before. Very good and interesting show

[Tonya]

Never seen a spider like the first. I call the second one daddy long legs. In fact, everyone I know calls the second one DLL's...I don't think that we even have the first one around where I live.

[ILoveMyAbbyGirl]

The whole mythbusters thing, DLL's are extremely poisonous... but not to people. Something along the lines of being deadly to other insects.

[almamee]

the first one is a Daddy Long Leg I found a picture of it

[almamee]

and the other one is a Loxosceles just my picture is in color and yours in black and white.

[sirrahved]

It is not a Loxosceles... this spider IS black.

[sirrahved]

I forgot to answer the Mythbusters question.

They busted the myth... but IMHO they used the wrong spider! I doubt the myth is true even with the right spider... BUT it still makes the test invalid.

[catnapper]

The first one is what we always called a Daddy Long Legs... the second one is just a gross looking spider. Or at least in my neck of the woods.

I remember watching the Discovery channel once during their Arachnid week special (or something like that) and they covered the DDL and said that its NOT an arachnid (sp?) (for some reason, and now the whole concept escapes me!)

Running to discoverychannel.com to find out!

Edit.. one link about why DDLs aren't spiders.. I NKEW I'd watched something! But couldn't find it on discoverychannel.com

http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/content...cies/3700.html

The following link describes the differences between the two monsters we've been tlking about!
http://www.arachnology.org/Arachnolo...ylonglegs.html


PS: I've never heard the myth about Daddy Long Legs being poisonous. I was always taught they were totally harmless!

[Kfamr]

The second one is what we've always called Daddy Long Legs.
I've never seven seen the first one.

[K9soul]

Actually all spiders are venomous to insects, that is how they kill, by injecting venom into their prey, but most spiders either do not have fangs that can penetrate human skin or else the venom is too mild to affect us. It can be like a bee sting where one person isn't affected beyond the pain of the sting and another has an allergic reaction to the venom of the sting.

The true daddy long legs, the first one, is not a spider but is actually considered more of a mite. It has only one body segment (thorax) whereas spiders have two, head (cephalothorax) and thorax. They do not have the ability to spin silk at all.

I'd guess both are commonly referred to by people as daddy long legs and Mythbusters used the real spider (the second one pictured) for their show.