The Long-Bodied Daddy Long-Legs Spider (Pholcus phalangioides) is an arachnid in the Pholcidae family. It is also known as the Cellar Spider.

The Long-Bodied Daddy Long-Legs Spider has a light-brown or dark-brown carapace (shell) and a brown, beige or grey abdomen, but mostly it looks pale and translucent (clear). It has scissor-like jaws, called chelicerae, that move from side to side. It has eight small eyes grouped closely together. It has very long, thin legs that are banded at the joints. 

It grows to about 5 centimetres (2 inches) in length.

It is very common in people’s homes across America and Europe. 

It is venomous, but its bite is not dangerous to humans.

The Long-Bodied Daddy Long-Legs Spider makes a large, irregular, messy web in basements, garages, attics, and dark corners. It sits upside-down in its web. Sometimes it shakes itself back and forth in its web when disturbed. 

The female carries her egg sacs in her jaws. 

[Location of photograph: Paris, France]

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM