Arach-Attack!
Ia, Insectivores!
An LJ pal whom shall remain anonymous just commented that I haven't posted a "Gross Picture of a Bug or Something" for aeons. So, whilst I'm digesting her for daring to use the "B" word in my presence, let's remedy that situation, shall we?!
-The charming little feller above is an Opilionid- an Arachnid known as a Harvestman by us Entomologically-savvy types, and popularly as a "Daddy-Long Legs". Now the term "Daddy-Long Legs" is confusing, as it describes no less than three completely unrelated species.
The creature that most people call the Daddy Long Legs is the long and thin critter often seen in corners of bathrooms etc. This is a spider, the Cellar Spider (Pholcus phalangoides) and is not a true Daddy Long-Legs.
Another creature saddled with the name is a Dipteran, which is an insect- a type of Crane-Fly that looks like a big-assed mosquito and is often squished after being mistaken for one (more fool the squisher, as Crane Flies prey on Mosquitoes).
The *true* Daddy Long Legs is the Harvestman, the jolly fellow pictured above. Asides from looking like something out of STARSHIP TROOPERS, the Opilionid's main claim to fame is that he's pretty much the only Arachnid with a penis, so he gets to have actual sex and doesn't have to do the whole "whack off into your boxing gloves" or "unload on the ground" mating routine that spiders and scorpions do, respectively.
And whilst we're talking about Arachnids, a shiny new penny to the flister whom can tell me why the photo below made this little Aussie bug, who has cheerfully handled Red-Back Widows, yell out "(Expletive!) whoever that is, she's "(Expletive)crazy!"
An LJ pal whom shall remain anonymous just commented that I haven't posted a "Gross Picture of a Bug or Something" for aeons. So, whilst I'm digesting her for daring to use the "B" word in my presence, let's remedy that situation, shall we?!
-The charming little feller above is an Opilionid- an Arachnid known as a Harvestman by us Entomologically-savvy types, and popularly as a "Daddy-Long Legs". Now the term "Daddy-Long Legs" is confusing, as it describes no less than three completely unrelated species.
The creature that most people call the Daddy Long Legs is the long and thin critter often seen in corners of bathrooms etc. This is a spider, the Cellar Spider (Pholcus phalangoides) and is not a true Daddy Long-Legs.
Another creature saddled with the name is a Dipteran, which is an insect- a type of Crane-Fly that looks like a big-assed mosquito and is often squished after being mistaken for one (more fool the squisher, as Crane Flies prey on Mosquitoes).
The *true* Daddy Long Legs is the Harvestman, the jolly fellow pictured above. Asides from looking like something out of STARSHIP TROOPERS, the Opilionid's main claim to fame is that he's pretty much the only Arachnid with a penis, so he gets to have actual sex and doesn't have to do the whole "whack off into your boxing gloves" or "unload on the ground" mating routine that spiders and scorpions do, respectively.
And whilst we're talking about Arachnids, a shiny new penny to the flister whom can tell me why the photo below made this little Aussie bug, who has cheerfully handled Red-Back Widows, yell out "(Expletive!) whoever that is, she's "(Expletive)crazy!"