In my own online research, I ran across reference after reference to “recent research by Alan Van Dyke” that shows cellar spider venom to be weak even against insects. As scientists often do, Adam and Jamie began their project with a little bit of research however, since bites from cellar spiders are so rarely reported, it seems that no one had ever bothered to really study the effects their venom has on humans! Initially, this certainly leant some credence to at least part of the myth! They paid a visit to arachnologist, Chuck Kristensen ( who happens to be a contributor to bugguide) who milked one of these dangly-legged creatures and found that the potency of its venom pales in comparison to the venom of the black widow. In fact, this myth is so widespread that the Mythbusters themselves took a whack at debunking it and debunk it, they did. It is a common misconception that the daddy long legs has the most powerful venom in the world but lacks the equipment necessary to deliver it through human skin. So, technically cellar spiders are venomous but do they possess the deadliest venom in the world? While there are a handful of spiders that lack venom glands altogether, almost all spider species are venomous however, most are not dangerous to humans. Well, this is a bit of a loaded question. I was at the gas station pumping gas, and I noticed it dangling almost right in front of my face! I haven’t been able to identify this one, yet. I found it on a brick wall of the school building during one of my lunchtime nature walks. I believe this specimen is a marbled cellar spider (Holocnemus pluchei). Take one look at these fragile dangly-legged creatures, and you will understand why some people consider them to be the daddy long legs. Interestingly, both of the specimen that I photographed for this post were found outside.Īll cellar spiders are found within the Pholcidae family, and there are approximately 20 different known species in North America with the long-bodied cellar spider (Pholcus phalangioides)īeing the most common. They prefer to live indoors and are frequently found up high in undisturbed corners. It’s just that I’ve been busy, and I haven’t had a chance to go where they most likely would be found. To the contrary, I see them quite often and was surprised when I couldn’t find one in my garage. It’s not that they are rare or hard to find. I have been wanting to write this article for some time, but it took a while to find a specimen to photograph.

In today’s article, we will tackle the daddy long legs in the right image: the cellar spider.

Long bodied cellar spider venom