DADDY LONG-LEGS ARE HIGHLY VENOMOUS, BUT THEIR FANGS CAN’T PUNCTURE OUR SKIN
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One of the first challenges of debunking this myth is to define what a ‘daddy long-legs’ is. For some it’s the spider-like arachnids called harvestmen (Opiliones), for some it’s cellar spiders (Pholcidae) and for others it’s the crane fly. Although harvestmen look like long-legged spiders, they’re not a member of the spider family. What’s true about this myth is that harvestmen and crane flies don’t have fangs – or in the crane fly’s case any mouthparts at all. What the harvestman does have, however, is a body packed with poison, rather than injectable venom. The smell of the internal poison is intended to ward off parasites and predators. While the poison might kill any insects or predators that gobble up the harvestman, it’s most certainly not a threat to human health. Crane flies, on the other hand, bear no venom, nor are they filled with protective poison. Cellar spiders have small fangs and are venomous, but they very rarely bite humans. In any case, their venom is practically harmless to us.