Arachnids · Araneae · Pholcidae

Cobweb Spider

Pholcus phalangioides

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

Pholcus phalangioides, the daddy long-legs spider, is a spider of the family Pholcidae. The females have a body length of 9 mm; the males are slightly smaller. Their legs are 5 to 6 times the length of their body. It usually lives on the ceilings of rooms, in caves, garages and cellars. They are considered beneficial in some parts of the world because they eat troublesome insects and arachnids inside houses. This is the only spider species described by the Swiss entomologist Johann Kaspar Füssli, who recorded it in 1775. Its Spanish name is sometimes confused with that of the tiger spider.

Size

up to 7 cm

Lifespan

3 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

Temperate forestCarnivore Nocturnal Solitary Temperate forest Arachnid

6countries 7parks

Fun facts

When it feels threatened it grips its web and vibrates at speed until it becomes a blur no predator can focus on.
It attacks and devours other spiders, including far larger and more dangerous species, by invading their webs and mimicking the vibrations of trapped prey.
The legend that it has the most potent venom in the world but cannot bite people is false: its venom is weak and its fangs can indeed pierce human skin, to no ill effect.
It hunts other spiders. It leaves its own web, finds a neighbour's and plucks it to mimic trapped prey; when the owner comes, it eats her. It can kill spiders far larger than itself.
Its defence is curious: when threatened it shakes its web violently until its own outline blurs.
The female holds her eggs in her chelicerae until they hatch and barely eats in the meantime.
Its legs are five or six times the length of its body.
It is harmless: its fangs are too weak to pierce human skin, and it is in fact beneficial, since it eats flies, mosquitoes and other household spiders.

Life cycle & biology

Habitat & environment: Ceilings, corners and cellars of buildings worldwide
Gestation / incubation: The eggs hatch in two or three weeks
Litter / clutch size: From 20 to 30 eggs per clutch, up to three clutches per female

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholcus_phalangioides