Talk:Pholcidae

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[edit] Deadly spider!!

The spiders are very dangerous. Call pest control immediately if one is found in or around your house!!

no, they're not. at all.

i was being facetious

MythBusters tested this. The fangs can penetrate the skin a tiny tiny bit, but no, it's not dangerous.

The venom just isn't powerful enough. --Jojje 09:20, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

The article doesn't mention the Mythbusters testing the venom itself to see what it contained... Didn't they do that too (aswell as getting bitten)? Supertin 00:59, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Urban legend

I altered the "Misconceptions" entry slightly to better reflect known facts. OzoneO 17:59, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

London UK I got bitten from a Daddy Long Leged spider(Polocus Phalangioides). The poison swelled up around the leg, and one of my glands. I had to be pute on very stong antibiotics. Yes this is a very rare ocasion, but it does happen. I was letting this spider live in my room. I found it a couple days later after I got bitten, and placed it out side.

I fail to see what the length of fangs has to do with the potentiality of the poison... Great science. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.221.14.187 (talk) 21:24, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Spider-killers?

Can someone give better information about this comment:

"Certain species of these seemingly benign spiders invade webs of other spiders and eat the host, the eggs or the prey. In some cases the spider vibrates the web of other spiders, mimicking the prey to lure the host of the web closer. They are also known to attack and eat other spiders and insects that are much larger then themselves."

I can't give more information but I can cite: The Queensland Museum site says they kill and eat redback spiders. Rocksong 00:55, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Notice these insects are always found in forests, they are purposely put there to eat mosquitos, they are not poisonous and arent found in homeland except for countryside.

They're not insects and they are certainly present around my inner suburban home! Perhaps you are thinking of the unrelated insect with the same name - see the clarification in the article introduction. Rocksong 04:27, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] opilionids?

I was reading this other article which described some daddylegs as not being spiders, but instead, they are a seperate order of arachnid... can someone who knows maybe clearify? [1]

According to Bill Nye, Daddy Longlegs have no fangs & venom. Therefore, they aren't spiders. 67.188.172.165 19:35, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately, "Daddy Long-Legs" refers to three different creatures. The Opiliones (or harvestmen) is also called the "Daddy Long-Legs", but it is NOT the same as the Daddy long-legs spider. See the Daddy longlegs page which explains the differences. Bill Nye would have been talking about the Opiliones. The Daddy long-legs spider is definitely a spider. Rocksong 00:54, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Daddy long-legs

Why are they called Daddy long-legs? Where does the "daddy" come from?

Mabey there the daddy of all legs? (Yeah, bad joke)--User: Eddy King 17:29, 2 November 2006 (UTC) 17:25, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] house spider?

"The Daddy long-legs spider, also called the Granddaddy long-legs spider, cellar spider, vibrating spider, or house spider" - how can it be confused for a house spider (Tegenaria domestica ) -these are totally different

If you look at the House spider page, you will see that several unrelated spiders have earnt the name "House spider". I assume the name "house spider" means different things in different parts of the world. Rocksong 05:20, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
thanks for clarification

[edit] what the

Uh, it appears that the writer of this article doesn't actually know what a Granddaddy Long-Legs is. Come on, look at the picture.

[edit] Different than picture?

We have what we call Daddy Long Legs here in minnesota, but their bodies are just perfect circles, not these elongated things

Perhaps it is the Opiliones (Harvestman)? If you check the Daddy longlegs page, you will see that Daddy Longlegs has a variety of usages. Rocksong 06:03, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Nah, I looked into thoes, I looked around quite a bit and can't find the spider I'm looking for. we have these ones in minnesota that just have small bodies like a small black pea and long long legs... I should get a picture of them some time, I have them all around my basement
It's a harvestman, take a look on google and you'll find a picture of it.

These are also located in the Texas/Mississippi Area. Though the body is usually more of a greyish-brown color I believe. I once saw one with apprx. a 3ft leg span standing 1ft tall. But I have no photo evidence to back this up.

[edit] Deadly Venom

I heard the same thing about crane flies (which is the insect that we Brits call daddylong legs). Do crane flies have venom, and if so, could this be the source of the myth associated with the spider?--88.109.17.47 22:21, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Check the Cranefly article for yourself - it's a certified load of crap. 88.110.101.0 11:46, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Could somone change the picture as at 29/04/07 it appears to show a winged insect. /


[edit] Uthina Genus?

Hello. The Uthina page has a link pointing here and claims that "uthina" is the name of a spider genus. Do you think it would be appropriate to create a redirect from Uthina_(spider) to this page, or would there be a better target? A few brief web searches (such as here) seem to agree that this is correct, but I just wanted to check with people actively involved in this article first. --Culix 19:21, 10 December 2006 (UTC) /


[edit] Playmate Spider

I laugh at the thought of these things being "dangerous". My family has played with them for many a generation. these are probably the most gentle and non-aggressive critters here in Virginia --User:Alucard44 13:25, 12 December 2006 (EST)

[edit] The GeoSafari Talking Microscope - Daddy Longlegs slide

Just a note

My son just received the GeoSafari Talking Microscope for Christmas. This is a great toy, but there seems to be a discrepancy. The toy has prepared slides that are 'clicked' into the microscope. When the Daddy Longlegs slide is loaded in, one of the Facts that is stated is that (paraphrasing) "Daddy Longlegs are not spiders". This is a child's toy, so there is just a statement made and no explanation. Based on what I have read at Wiki, this statement is in conflict.

Fitzwiki 13:56, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like the slide was of the Harvestman. Unfortunately, three different arthropods are called "Daddy Long-Legs". See the Daddy Long-Legs article. The Daddy Long-legs spider - the subject of this article - IS a true spider. Rocksong 04:37, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Contradiction?

I don't really get this..at the top it says "The Daddy long-leg...is not a true spider", but at the bottom it says "The Daddy long-legs spider is a true spider". If I just somehow didn't understand what it truly meant and it really does make sense, I think this article should be explained differently.

The Daddy-Long legs spider is a true spider. There was a misinformed edit done on 1-Jan-07, which I've fixed now. Rocksong 00:52, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rename article to Pholcid? (make that Pholcidae)

Judging by the number of confused edits and comments this article gets, perhaps it is time to rename this article from "Daddy long-legs spider" to "Pholcid" or "Pholcids". Anyone else like (or dislike) this idea? Rocksong 04:40, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

It seems that Pholcidae, not Pholcid, would be correct. "Pholcidae" gets more hits on Google than "Daddy long-legs spider", though it may not be fair to compare word hits with exact phrase hits. And I think a rename would be in line with Wikipedia:Naming conventions (fauna), which says "Don't use common names when it isn't clear what the name refers to". But still, I'd like feedback before initiating a formal request. Rocksong 05:16, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Whoah, the confusion gets worse. There's also the page Pholcus phalangioides which begins, "The Daddy-Long-Legs Spider (Pholcus phalangioides) is a spider of the family Pholcidae." Rocksong 05:24, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
i moved the page, and reworded the introduction to make it a little bit more exact. --Sarefo 13:25, 5 January 2007 (UTC)