Who is a spider with long thin legs, and how is it still different from its relatives?

On warm days, at the edges of forests and in the fields, a spider with long thin legs is often found. He is also a frequent guest of houses and farm buildings. What is this creation and what are its features?

Biological Description of the Species

This is about haying spider, or a centipede. This is a family of spiders Pholcidae, which includes more than 1000 species that live across the globe. Many of them often settle in houses, apartments, in sheds and garages, preferring to coexist with people. First of all, we are talking about Pholcus phalangioides.

The body of this spider with long legs can reach a length of 2 to 10 mm, look like a ball or have a fusiform shape. In this case, males are usually a couple of millimeters less than females. In Pholcus phalangioides, the most common type of haying spider, the abdomen is painted in beige or brown, and the scutellum covering the body is painted with a grayish pattern. The real pride of this spider family is its long legs with a shiny surface. Their length can be several centimeters, and sometimes reaches 9 cm in the tropics.

It is important not only to know the name of the spider with long legs, but also how it differs from knee-high boots.

The family of hayfire spiders (centipedes) belongs to the order of spiders - Araneae, and the hayfields (moths) - to the order of Opiliones. Although they are all arachnids and have a similar structure, they are fundamentally different creatures, although very similar to each other in appearance. Due to such similarities, the same names appeared, which often leads to confusion.
For example, a centipede, which is a true spider, weaves a cobweb, while rhinoceros do not. In addition, in a haying spider on a round body - millet - there are 8 eyes: two of them are in the middle (medial), and the rest are along the edges of the abdomen on small outgrowths. In some specimens living in dark caves, the number of eyes can be reduced as unnecessary. Haymakers have always only two eyes.

Another difference between the centipede spider and the haymower can be seen if you carefully examine their torso. In both it consists of a rounded abdomen and chest, smoothly passing into the head. These two significant parts are connected by a peculiar neck-stalk. But in a true haymaker, unlike a spider, this transition is very wide, so it seems that the whole body consists of one single section in a snow cutter, while each of the centipedes is pronounced.

There are 8 legs on the cephalothorax. Moreover, their size is often uneven: the longest pair of spider-mowing is actively using as antennas. He perceives with them the objects surrounding him, restores order in his web. At the same time, each of the legs can fall off in danger: for example, if a lizard grabbed it. Although the lost limb is not regenerated, the centipedes can do fine without them: there are often individuals who move at a fast pace even on 4 legs.

Haymaking Spider Life

Spiders with long legs, belonging to the family Pholcidae, are spread all over the world, as well as its famous representative phalanx folkul (Pholcus phalangioides), which can so often be found in houses and buildings on adjacent sites. Very often they choose for their habitat slots of warm window frames, a foundation on the sunny side of the house, nooks in dry rooms.

Hay mowing spiders move very quickly due to their long legs. Their height allows this arthropod to grab onto the blades of grass, easily climb over logs, cross impressive distances in a short time. In this case, the body itself is located at a relatively large distance above the ground, so the risk of injuries is minimal. These qualities allow haying spiders to hide from numerous ill-wishers.

Hunting

A haymaker - a spider with long legs - is quite undemanding to food. The process of eating is slow because the creature has no teeth. He tears off pieces of his food - snails, small insects and other arthropods with strong chelicera, and then carefully grinds the food in his mouth.

Chelicerae are processes in the oral cavity in the form of small ticks.

In the diet of the haying spider there is not only animal food, but also vegetable. Sometimes he does not disdain even carrion, eating dead insects. Solid, soft, and semi-liquid foods are suitable for long-legged women.

But the main way to get food from a haying spider is hunting. Like all real spiders, he, unlike grasshoppers, weaves a web. But he does not secrete the sticky enzyme that his brothers have, so the hunting net works in a different way: it is interwoven randomly and firmly, and the victim, fluttering, strives with all his might to get out of the trap, only getting more entangled in it. The haying spider can only get to its prey, wrap it with a strong thread and introduce paralyzing poison into it. The long-legged creature does not necessarily eat the victim right away: it can be sent in reserve.

The haying spider is often active at night, when it weaves its chaotic web and awaits prey. In the daytime, centipedes prefer to sit on the walls, windows and foundations of houses, and their wide and long legs serve as an excellent support, allowing the arthropod to feel confident on any surface.

If too much prey gets into the network to the hay spider, which it can’t handle (for example, a bumblebee), or unnecessary garbage, then the centipede begins to move the web, causing it to vibrate, thereby helping the prey to get out of the trap.

Breeding

Hayfields are dioecious animals. Their mating season begins around the end of August. The exact “start” depends on the type, region of residence and weather. Males after fertilization, the females do not stop, but immediately begin to look for a new girlfriend. Sometimes males fight for the right to leave offspring.

In some species, not only females, but also males try to look after the masonry and the younger generation. Basically, this is to protect the eggs from other females, which often tend to eat someone else’s offspring.

Females lay several clutches during the season, which is a cocoon containing up to 50 eggs. The optimal substrate for this is the fallen foliage of trees, less often, moderately moist moss or well-tilled soil. Usually, young hay spiders hatch from overwintered eggs with the onset of spring, although in warm regions this can happen in the fall. Until the end of summer, they manage to become sexually mature after several links. In individuals living in the tropics, two such generations per year are possible. The maximum lifespan of a haying spider from emergence from eggs is 3 years.

Is he harmful in the house?

Haying spiders, despite their peculiar appearance, are completely safe for humans. Their poison is unable to cause harm to health, with the exception of the rarest cases of individual intolerance to substances that cause slight local redness.Moreover, their mites (chelicerae) are so small that they are simply unable to cause damage to human skin.

Hay mowing spiders have been living in human homes for a long time and around the world. In the West they were nicknamed "Cellar spider", which is translated from English as "Basement Spider".

The main reason why people strive to rid themselves of the neighborhood of centipedes and their relatives is arachnophobia, that is, fear of spiders. It represents an irrational fear of these creatures; and treatment is done by psychologists or psychotherapists.

But, if there are many hayfire spiders in the house, there is still cause for concern. This means that a lot of food has appeared in the room for the centipedes, often parasites. Therefore, you need to find the reason for this "neighborhood", eliminate it and conduct treatment at home from spiders.