Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here here's one you might have heard before. Urban legend has it that Daddy long Legs carry the most toxic venom of any known spider, but the tail goes. Their little fangs can't penetrate human skin. This story has no basis in fact, and besides, Daddy long Legs is a colloquial name that's been applied to a wide range of unrelated animals, most don't even qualify
as spiders. Colloquial or common names can be confusing, but was sure they're catchier and less in Latin than the formal scientific names for species, but at least that scientific nomenclature is fairly standardized. A genus or species name may change as living things are reclassified, but common names for the same creature can change from region to region. For example, you know that crustacean that looks like a smaller version
of a lobster. What do you call those crayfish? Crawfish, crawdads, yabbies, freshwater lobsters. They're all names for closely related animals. As common names go, Daddy long Legs is overused, and it's pretty inconsistent. Usually when Americans say it, they're referring to one of the six thousand plus aracted species within the order of Pillionnaise. Some folks know these critters as the harvestmen,
but they're not spiders. Look at a spider and you'll see two main body segments that are clearly distinguishable, the cephalothorax where the head resides, and the abdomen. On harvestmen, these components are fused, giving the body an oval like appearance. And whereas spiders have eight eyes, harvestmen only have two. Unable to produce silk, harvest men don't build webs, and they don't have venom. We spoke by an email with Rick Vetter, a biologist and author who's confronted plenty of
misconceptions about spiders and their kin. He explained, except for one weird family, all spiders have venom to subdue prey. Harvestmen have no venom, So let the records show that they are not dangerous to humans. But you can breathe easy around these daddy long legs, unless, of course, you are their prey. Instead of venomating other animals, harvestmen rip their meals apart with appendages located near the mouth. Slugs, springtails,
and earthworms are just some of the invertebrates. These creatures will hunt, though they're not too picky and don't mind scavenging once in a while too. But harvestmen aren't the only creatures called Daddy long legs In Great Britain Better tells us the name refers to crane flies, which are insects. Huntsmen and other arachnids walk around on four pairs of legs, while crane flies only have three pairs, and insects possess
three main body segments plus a set of antenna. People tend to get crane flies mixed up with mosquitoes, but crane flies don't suck blood, and they spend most of their lives as water or soil based larva. Once that phase ends, these invertebrates mature into two winged adults. They're not called Daddy long legs for nothing, though, just as advertised, mature crane flies do in fact have noticeably long legs. Sometimes these appendages are twice the length of the insects body.
The biggest known crane fly displays a ten inch leg span that's twenty five cimeters. Adults don't tend to have big appetites. Certain species will stop eating altogether after the larval stage, and nevertheless, crane flies provide an important food source for other animals, including reptiles, birds, and spiders, speaking of which, in a surprise twist, some people reserve the common name Daddy long legs for a group of actual spiders. Let us introduce the false to day, better known as
these seller spiders. These arachnids enjoy dark habitats such as empty burrows, rocky crevices, and of course sellers. One species of European origin now shacks up in human dwellings all over the world. Fall kiss phialanioidas is a yellowish brown predator that weaves horizontally oriented webs. Falseod fangs are tiny, only about a quarter of a millimeter long, and they're designed to make physical contact with a corresponding spine to
form pinchers, not unlike a pair of tweezers. And while falsehoods are venomous, the good news is that venoms don't affect all targets equally. When researchers examined the venom of a falsehood called faiso cyclists mexicanus in They found it was extremely hazardous to insects, yet the creatures bite had an inconsequential effect on mammals. There's simply no evidence that this arachnet, nor any of the seller spiders is harmful to human beings. Still, we may be on the cusp
of something here. Fal Kiss Phalanioidas specializes in killing and devouring other spiders, including members of its own species, So who knows. Maybe those diet preferences gave rise to the nonsense rumors about super toxic Daddy long Live's venom. Today's episode was written by Mark Mancini and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other creepy Crawley topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is a
production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.