Spiders

There are a substantial number of spiders in the world that should frighten you with their venomous potential, but this long-legged guy just isn’t one of them. In fact, they are in the arachnid class, but are actually not spiders at all.

Hailing from the Opiliones order, these creatures, also known as harvestmen, are fundamentally different from spiders in several ways. Firstly, they do not have venom glands in their chelicerae, the mouthparts of arachnids, crabs, and sea spiders. They do not have silk glands and do not build webs. Instead of being the skilled predators spiders are, harvestmen are omnivorous forage feeders of insects and plants, and scavengers of decomposing and fecal material. And lastly, they enjoy and even seek out the company of other harvestmen, something spiders are not typically known to do. So the next time someone warns you about a daddy long legs, you can smile on the inside because you know you’re safe.