Similar species: Though they also have long, thin legs and are also often called daddy longlegs, harvestmen (in order Opiliones) are quite different and unrelated. To distinguish it from other cellar spiders may require close examination of palps, “face” structure, carapace markings, and eye groupings. Perhaps the most common species in our area is the longbodied cellar spider, Pholcus phalangioides. Many common spiders in this family have 8 eyes arranged into three groups: 2 in the center of the face, and a cluster of 3 on each side of the central pair. Most have oval or rounded abdomens, sometimes described as “peanut shaped.” Females build nonadhesive, unorganized, messy-looking cobwebs, usually in corners or crevices. Some species have darkened joints on their legs, giving them a “knobby-kneed” look. This movement turns them into a blur, rendering them practically invisible to potential predators.
Other characteristics add to their camouflage: Their gray, tan, or whitish color, small body size, and remarkable habit of “vibrating” or bouncing rapidly in their webs when alarmed. The tarsi (“feet”) are flexible, adding to the wispy impression they give.
Are the Species of the Cellar Spider Family Poisonous and Do they Bite Since the webs lack adhesive qualities, these spiders mostly rely on the irregular pattern for trapping prey. They make irregularly shaped, messy, non-sticky webs in dark and damp areas. They resemble tiny spiders and crawl to their mother’s body after hatching. Eggsįemales produce approximately three sacs in their lifetime, with each of them having about 10 to 60 eggs.
Other characteristics: Thin and fragile, the species possess cylindrical abdomens, with short fangs. Size: Their body is 2 to 10 mm (0.08 to 0.39 inches) long, while their legs can have a length of approximately 50 mm (1.97 inches).Ĭolor: Spiders of this family have a yellow or pale tan body with gray or chevron markings in the middle. Physical Description & Identification Adults