Other Common Names
daddy-long-legs/daddy-longlegs, granddaddy-long-legs, harvest spiders, shepherd spiders, phalangids, opilionids
Numbers
~6500 spp. worldwide arranged into >40 families of 4 suborders (of which Laniatores is by far the largest, with >4100 spp., and one suborder is restricted to the Old World)
(1)Size
Variable; body sizes range from a few millimeters to a few centimeters. Legs are several times the size of the body in the more familiar "daddy-long-legs" forms of the Phalangioidea.
Identification
Easily separated from spiders by the broad fusion of the two body segments, so that the body appears to be composed of a singular segment. Also, as they do not possess silk glands, harvestmen can't form webs. Uniquely among the arachnids fertilization is direct: males possess a penis (also referred to in the literature as pene, aedagus or intromittent organ).
Range
Global, except Antarctica
(1)Habitat
All habitats (except possibly deserts) in Canada & the USA: forests, grasslands, wetlands, mountains, caves, chaparral, and anthropogenic habitats.
Season
Not likely to be found in winter months in northern/montane regions, except as overwintering populations in refugia (e.g., caves).
Life Cycle
Egg, juvenile, adult. Some reproduce by direct fertilization (males possess a penis); others reproduce parthenogenetically (i.e., without males).
Remarks
more closely related to scorpions than to spiders
(1)
In some cases, in dry climates, they gather in large numbers during the day, probably to avoid dessication, and wander about in search of food after the sun goes down.
Photo taken in Sierra Madre, Mexico
