This is ridiculous and completely false, they have mild venom that takes quite a bit to even immobilize their small insect prey. One myth that surrounds these spiders is the fact that they have the most toxic venom of any spider but cannot bite because they are too small. Cellar spiders are easily identified by their extraordinarily long and thin legs, which are attached to their elongate and thin body.

Prey is heavily wrapped in a veil of very fine silk, turning it whitish in color (see inset picture). The cellar spider, also known as the daddy long-legs spider, is almost only ever found indoors, where they benefit from a warm, stable temperature. I have even seen a deer tick captured by one of these spiders. These spiders capture large amounts of household pests such as mosquitoes, flies, larder chafers, drugstore beetles, meal moths, ants, Asian ladybugs and other spiders (ones that wander on the floors). Long-bodied cellar spiders have bodies that are 7 to 8 millimeters long and front legs can be between 45 to 50 millimeters long. They are extremely beneficial to have in your home. Cellar Spiders, also known as Pholcids, typically have a body length ranging from 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch (6-10 mm) and a leg span of around 2 inches (50 mm) or more. The abdomen has a cylindrical shape and is 3x larger in length than width. One of the primary differences between these two arachnids is their size. Outdoors around houses and in crevices or caves.ĭiet: Insects such as flies, beetles, moths, centipedes, ants, mosquitoes and other spiders. Cellar spider are tan, yellow or grey in colour. Habitat: Houses, barns, sheds, basements, under porches, outbuildings, under tables, in cabinets and corners, and under furniture. Spiderlings stay in the web with the mother until their first shedding. It is built in dark corners and crevices.Įggs: 17-42, held in a very fine sac of silk, held by the female in her web. Web: Irregular tangle of web strands, not very strong. Mistakenly called a daddy-long legs, a distant relative of all spiders. Somewhat translucent looking, females larger than males and can have distended abdomens from eggs within. Description: Very long legged spider with small narrow body.

Long bodied cellar spiders