Is daddy long legs the poisonus spider in the world? can it bite people?

Question

Is daddy long legs the poisonus spider in the world? can it bite people?

Answer 1

daddy long legs fang are to short for their bodies so they cant bite but the female if they could do have very poisonous venom and could very well kill a large male and anything smaller

Answer 2

Yes, I've heard they are the most poisonus spider in the world, however they cannot bite.

Seeing that they have eight legs, I wouldn't call them insects.

Answer 3

Mythbusters tested this myth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1DzkM0zq...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters...

Also see:

http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.htm...

DADDY-LONGLEGS ARE ONE OF THE MOST POISONOUS SPIDERS BUT THEIR FANGS ARE TOO SHORT TO BITE HUMANS

This tale has been lurking around for years. I have heard it repeatedly in the United States and even heard a schoolteacher misinforming her class at a museum in Brisbane, Australia. This is incorrect, but to clarify it, several points need to be explained first.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/long...

Answer 4

nope its not.

TECHNICALY its not a spider, seriously! not even related in anyway except for the apperrance!

BUT! it is EXTREMELY poisonous and just has small fangs unable to break the skin on almost all mamals and larger beings.

Answer 5

yes if its mouth was big enough to bite us it would be the most toxic spider there is however since it has such a tiny mouth it cannot bite us therefore really doesn't cause much harm but are disgusting to have around

Answer 6

The Daddy Long  Leg is a cousin to the tick. ( it has a single body part) I don't know how poison it's bite is, but its fangs ain't big enough to penetrate human skin and they are not aggressive. If you see one in the house, all you have to do is grab it by one of it's legs and it will freeze and you can simply carry it out side and let it go. This is something I have done too many times to count. It's the easiest way to get them out of the house. And I have never had one to try and bite me.

Answer 7

That depends on which daddy longlegs you referring to.

1.  Daddylonglegs, which is also called the crane fly, is actually an insect, and not a spider.  And spiders are  not insects.  The adults resembles large mosquitos.  They are neither venomous nor poisonous.  They are completely harmless to humans.

2.  Daddy longlegs, which is another name for the cellar spider.  It is a true spider, but its venom is pretty weak.  On myth busters,  they showed that the fangs can penetrate human skin, but the bite only cause a mild burning feeling for a few seconds.  You can cross this one out as being the most poisonous or venomous spider.  

3.  Daddy longlegs that is also known as the harvestman is not a true spider, although it is an arachnid.   Unlike true spiders harvestman have NO VENOM GLANDS.  Nor are they poisonous to eat.  Even if a large tropical species were to bite you, it would have no effect since it has no venom whatsoever.  So the myth about being the most venomous  spider is just that a MYTH.  I think its time people start separate myth from facts.

Answer 8

The daddy long legs is beleived to be one of the most poisonous spider, although its teeth are too small and not strong enough to pierce humans skin

Answer 9

daddy long legs are poisonous, but their fangs are too short to bite through human skin and they are actually pretty good to keep around the house since they do keep bugs out.  The most poisonous spider in the world is the Brazilian Wandering  spider

Answer 10

actually yes it is a highly poisonous spider but its fangs are too short to completely penetrate human skin

Answer 11

It is the most poisonous spider, but its mouth is so tiny and cant bite through our skin! Hope this helps!

Answer 12

they've exctracted venom from cellar spiders.. what i think of when i think of daddy long legs..

and tested it on mice, in a 'lethal' dose.. nothing happened.. they also measrued their fang size.. they are long enough to bite a human.. they just aren't dangerous

Answer 13

It has the strongest poison, but can't administrate it because they have no teeth. Bloody stupid really.

Answer 14

Oh, come on now! It's harmless!

Sure, it's an arachnid, but it's not even a spider.

The "Black Widow" has the most potent venom of all spiders.

You'll see them in the warm areas with high humidity. There are some in the Mediterranean and "a lot" in South America and Mexico.

DON'T BE AFRAID OF DADDY LONG LEGS!

Answer 15

Daddy Long Legs are a member of the arachnoid family ( spiders,ticks, and mites). However, Daddy Long Legs do not bite and they certainly aren't poisonous. They eat dead things, paper, vegetation, Etc.

Answer 16

No, it's not poisonous at all.  In fact, while it is related to spiders, it isn't  even a spider.

Answer 17

i heard it was really poisonous, the most poisonous im not sure bout  that - but its fangs arent strong enough to break human skin so we are cool dont sweat it

Answer 18

No. Daddy longlegs are not spiders (they are not insects either, like some people said) they are harvestmen, which are in the order Opiliones rather than the order Araneae like spiders. Both are arachnids, though. Also, they are definitely not the most poisonous in the world. In fact, they don't even have venom glands and even though some species do have large chelicerae (mouthparts) they very rarely bite. On the few occasions where people  have been bitten they were in absolutely no danger. I'm not sure where this myth came from, but I used to hear it all the time when I was younger, too. Just know it's not true. If you think about it logically, what would be the point of having such potent venom if you couldn't use it for self defense?

You should also note that there are several different species that sometimes go by the common name of Daddy Longlegs. These include the Harvestmen that I was talking about (those are the only ones that I've ever personally heard referred to as a daddy longlegs), the Crane Fly (which may be why some people said it's an insect) and then there is the Cellar spider, which is actually a spider. However, none of these are deadly.

Harvestman: http://www.hkedcity.net/uploaded_files/e...

Crane fly: http://i1.treknature.com/photos/2515/dad...

Cellar Spider:

http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/photos/kra...

Answer 19

it is the most poisonus, yes, but it's fangs are too small too bite anyone and it's legs are too long.

Answer 20

It is hard to define which spider in the world is the most dangerous to humans. Several spiders could qualify, depending on what you mean by dangerous. Do you mean the spider with the most toxic venom, measured by its effect on newborn mice or other mammals? Or do you mean the spider that has caused the death of the most people? Those that have the strongest venom may not be encountered by humans very often, or may even have trouble piercing human skin and so are not considered to be "dangerous". These include the Daddy Long Legs, which people often say is the most dangerous or most poisonous but in fact can't pierce a person's skin with its very small fangs. See this page for further info on the Daddy Long Legs. Data are usually only kept on bites from spiders that are potentially deadly or cause severe reactions and these data are not recorded consistently at a national or international level. So to answer this question I will define dangerous as "deadly".

On current evidence the most dangerous spiders in the world are Funnel-web spiders (Atrax and Hadronyche species), Redback Spiders and their relations (Latrodectus species), Banana Spiders (Phoneutria species) and Recluse Spiders (Loxosceles species). In Australia, only male Sydney Funnel Web Spiders and female Redback Spiders have caused human deaths, but none have occurred since antivenoms were made available in 1981.

The Australian Funnel-web spiders are among the deadliest spiders in the world in the effect their bites have on humans and monkeys (although the bite has little effect on dogs and cats). There are many species of funnel-web spiders in Australia but only male Sydney Funnel-webs have caused human deaths. There have been only 13 deaths recorded from male Sydney Funnel-webs, but up to 30-40 people are bitten by funnel-web spiders each year. Mouse spiders may have venom that is as toxic as that of some funnel-webs, as some patients have had severe reactions to their bites, although no-one has been recorded as having died from the effects of a mouse spider bite. Antivenoms are available for both Funnel-web and Redback Spider bites.

A group of spiders that is dangerous in many countries belongs to the genus Latrodectus in the Family Theridiidae. In Australia we have the Redback Spider (Latrodectus hasselti). In America, a common representative of this genus is the Black Widow (Latrodectus mactans). Antivenoms are available for both Funnel-web and Redback Spider bites.

A deadly spider which comes from South America is the Banana Spider, Phoneutria species. In south-eastern Brazil between 1970 and 1980, more than 7,000 people were admitted to hospital with bites from this spider. An antivenom also exists for this species. These are also called Brazilian Wandering spiders and have been reported in bunches of bananas imported into the United States.

The Recluse or Fiddleback Spider is a deadly spider belonging to the genus Loxosceles. Recluse spiders are found in many parts of the world and have been introduced into Australia. The venom of this spider can cause severe skin necrosis (eating away of the flesh) and can be fatal although

http://www.spiderzrule.com/dangerous.htm

Answer 21

They do have a strong poison, but no good way to deliver a bite that would really do anything.  I've pulled the legs off them (as a small kid so cut me some slack! heh) and never had one even try to bite me.

Answer 22

It is. But where its mouth is so small it cant bite people.

Just imagined if it could bite, there would be tons of people bitten.

Answer 23

I know that they are poisonous but it would take allot of them to bite you for your body to have any reaction!!

Answer 24

yes, they are poisonous but not enough to penetrate human skin. Don't kill a daddy long legs b/c they are model spiders with there long legs and eats mosquitos

Answer 25

Absolutely not - I don't think it is even technically a spider, and it delivers a tiny, harmless bite.

Answer 26

They are the most poisonous compared to their size. However their teeth are soft and their mouths are tiny. The only way it would be fatal is to eat one.

Answer 27

Daddy long legs are not poisonous.   Here is a common misconception about the Daddy Long legs, also called a "harvestman":

"An urban legend claims that the harvestman is the most venomous animal in the world, but possesses fangs too short or a mouth too round and small to bite a human and therefore is not dangerous. (The same myth applies to the cellar spider, which is also called a daddy longlegs.)  This is untrue on several counts. None of the known species have venom glands or fangs, instead having chelicerae. The size of its mouth varies by species, but even those with relatively large jaws hardly ever bite humans or other large creatures, even in self-defense. The few known cases of actual bites did not involve envenomation, and had no lasting effect."

Answer 28

I hear they are, but they cannot bite because of weak "teeth." But if ingested, seek medical help asap!

Answer 29

hahahaha daddy long legs are so nice! They are definitely not poisonous and they don't bite!

Answer 30

All spiders have poison, but the Daddy Long Leg's poison is harmless to humans. Additionally, its teeth are indeed too small to penetrate into human flesh. Don't worry, they're safe.

Answer 31

It can not bite people because they're teeth are shaped the wrong way and they're not long enough to bite people. You need to read a book sometime.