Impurest Cheese: Urban Legend Quashers #2 - Daddy Long Legs The fertilised eggs are guarded by their mother until they hatch, and will remain close by until they moult, preying on each other before leaving to build their own webs. Like most spiders the Long Bodied Cellar Spider practices cannibalism, so mating is a risky business for the male, so to show that his intentions are strictly amorous, he caresses the female before passing packets of sperm for her to fertilize her eggs. In addition to passively capturing insects in its web, the Long Bodied Cellar Spider will also actively search for prey, and will happily target larger or more venomous spiders in their own webs (2), subduing them with a mixture of sprayed silk and their own venom. The web is used as much in defence as it is to catch insect prey, with the spider vibrating it when it senses danger to disorientate any potential predator. The web of the Long Bodied Cellar Spider consists of a few random strands often spun in a corner of a room. The species is often seen in early to mid-autumn due to its inability to survive outside in winter conditions throughout most of its range. Long Bodied Cellar Spiders are former cave dwellers, and as such are very pale, and are often found in underground spaces, as well as in houses. Females are larger than males, but both genders have the skull like marking on their cephalothorax, giving the species the alternate name of ‘Skull Spider’. Long Bodied Cellar Spiders are small to medium sized spiders (body length is about 1cm) with elongated legs, hence the colloquial name of Daddy Long Legs attributed to this species (among others).

Range – Long Bodied Cellar Spiders are found throughout Europe, North Africa, China and the Eastern Seaboard of the United States of America and Canada, often inside buildings and other sheltered areas. Related Species – The Long Bodied Cellar Spider is one of the 1500 species in the family Pholocidae known colloquially as both ‘Cellar Spiders’ and ‘Daddy Long-Legs Spiders’ (1) This week we’re looking at something far more domestic, hope you guys enjoy. Last week we were grooving down with that crazy cat the Disco Clam. Well good news everyone, despite computer problems, and spending all night fixing it, we have another issue of Impurest’s Guide to Animals, brought to you by caffeine and of course your host Impurest Cheese.

Long bodied cellar spider venom