Longbodied Spider Consumes the Most Hazardous Species
Perhaps you have encountered a pale, grey spider with extremely long, thin legs and a body that looks as if it has not eaten for months. The creature is a longbodied cellar spider (you might know it as a daddy longlegs), which makes small, messy and is often found in the corners of our homes. If you come too close, they will swing so fast up and down their webs that it is very difficult to see and capture the slender creatures.
The species of cellar spider pictured here comes from Southern Europe, but populations are growing quickly in Northern Europe and Scandinavia. And you should be pleased – not least if you are afraid of spiders, because they feed on other spiders. In some regions of the world, they are adored, because they contribute to reducing the population of hazardous spiders - including redbacks. Myth has it that cellar spiders are he most poisonous species, but in fact their toxin is very mild..