This big skinny beast is living right over an electrical outlet in my dining room, and I needed to plug something in…I decided not to. I didn’t think it worthwhile to disturb them right away, I’ll give them a chance to move later.
It’s Pholcus, either phalangioides or manueli but they didn’t turn to look at me so I could tell. Maybe I’ll get a look at their face later.
I do like the long lean legs that look like bronze or copper piping, though.
Lovely picture!
Can spiders digest non-living food if you drop it into the web? It is my understanding they must inject enzymes into a living body (unlike their distant detritivore relatives, the daddy longlegs).
Bronze Pipework
There is a skinny beast
in my dining room,
watching from the outlet.
Bronze pipe legs,
face hidden
in the webbing.
I needed to plug
something in,
but decided not to.
I’ll give them a chance to move on.
birgerjohansson @ 2, got bit by a daddy longlegs spider, basically it bit my upper lumbar region to tell me, “get the fuck off of me!”, which I did an “ow, didn’t see you there, my bad” and moved.
That said, daddy longlegs is, quite variable, ranging from a crane fly to harvestmen spider to these, which are known to actually consume venomous to humans spiders.
I’ve a bit of a dislike for spiders in general, largely driven from a phobia that was created when mom was relocating a potted tree and a house spider literally scrambled for cover up her nose and much later, from a envenomated bite by an accidentally bed crushed hobo spider. Knowing that, I adapt my behavior accordingly to give them a fair degree of protection. Hence, I’ll happily relocate a hobo spider outdoors, rather than let it get predated upon by a daddy longlegs (which, being morphologically dissimilar enough to not trigger the phobia, gets observed and well, denied that specific meal, due to the value the hobo delivers in a more appropriate environment).
I like daddy longlegs. They’re not fast, so they can’t scurry up your leg. And when you squish them they don’t leave a mess.
They’re not fast, are they then half-fast?
I’ll get my coat…
@weylguy please do not squish the daddy longlegs.
I miss spiders.
I haven’t seen one since I moved into a high-rise.
@9 you can have mine My old apartment was so infested with Pholcus that the tiny bathroom
ceiling was alive . I have no idea what they ate! But if they got too numerous I’d go in there with a spray bottle of Clorox .