phalangioides", though populations tend to be relatively small, widely dispersed, and greatly isolated from one another. The large number of buildings in the world has favoured "P. phalangioides" are influenced greatly by the presence of human-made buildings since these spiders prefer warmer habitats indoors. It takes about one year for these spiders to mature after they are born, and their life span is up to two years post-maturity. The remnant outer skin or exoskeleton is known as the exuviae. The spider is then able to escape the exoskeleton. During molting, the spider will produce certain enzymes that release the rest of its body from the underlying tissue of its exoskeleton. Depending on the age of the spider, this exoskeleton must be shed at differing intervals younger spiders tend to molt much more often. Similar to other species of spider, a hard exoskeleton coats the bodies of "P. The eyes are arranged such that there is a pair of smaller, dark eyes at the front of the prosoma followed by three parallel rows of pairs of larger eyes. phalangioides" tend to be a grey-pale brown color with a dark spot on the back of the prosoma and some dark, blurred spots on the dorsal side of the opisthosoma.Īlthough some other members of the family Pholcidae have six eyes, "Pholcus phalangioides" is an eight-eyed spider. The round, peanut-like shape of the spider's cephalothorax has earned the species the nickname "skull spider". ![]() The opisthosoma is considered the posterior part of the body which contains most of the spider's internal organs. The prosoma is commonly known as the cephalothorax, and the opisthosoma is commonly known as the abdomen. ![]() phalangioides", as with all spiders, can be divided into two parts: the prosoma and the opisthosoma. The average length of an adult female's legs is roughly 50 mm. On average, their legs are roughly 5 to 6 times as long as the spider's body. As indicated by their common name, "daddy long-legs", these spiders boast eight very long and thin legs which are covered in thin, grey bristles. The average female ranges from 7 to 8 mm in length. Males tend to be around 6 to 10 mm in length with the average male being around 6 mm. The body length of this species varies between males and females. Harvestmen do not have silk glands, so they cannot spin webs they also lack the venom glands that true spiders possess."Pholcus phalangioides" are sexually dimorphic, where females are slightly larger than the males of the species. Among the obvious structural differences are harvestmen’s having one apparently unified (usually egg-shaped) body, while true spiders have clearly separate head and abdomen regions. 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. Cellar spiders are inconspicuous, harmless, fragile spiders with extremely long, thin legs.
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