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Old 09-09-2003, 03:49 PM  
sperbonzo
I'd rather be on my boat.
 
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Miami, FL
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The creatures most correctly called daddy-longlegs are in their own separate Order which is Opiliones. Common names for this Order are 1) daddy-longlegs, 2) harvestmen and 3) opilionids. They are characterized by having one basic body segment which shows segmentation on the posterior portion, at most 2 eyes and all 8 legs attach to the pill-like body segment. They are usually found under logs and rocks, prefer moist habitat although they can be found in the desert, often have long flexible legs (in the temperate Northern hemisphere but there are also short-legged daddy-longlegs) and they do not produce silk so therefore they are never found in webs unless they are being eaten by spiders. Because they are found under logs and other stuff which people most often are not turning over, most folks don't run into daddy-longlegs very often.
Ironically, "Daddy long legs" have the most virilent venom of any spider-type species in North America. The ironic part of that is that their mouth parts are almost microscopically small, their mouth is simply too small to bite into the flesh of any but the tiniest of creatures.
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