Long-bodied Cellar Spider, Daddy Long-legs Spider, Skull Spider
Pholcus phalangioides
Pholcidae (Cellar Spiders), Order Araneae. Key family characteristics include extremely long, delicate legs and a small, often elongated or oval abdomen.
Physical Description
The spider has a distinctively small, pear-shaped or oval abdomen, a compact cephalothorax, and extremely long, delicate legs. The cephalothorax often has a dark marking that some find resembles a human skull, giving it one of its common names.
Size Estimate
Body length is typically around 7 to 10 millimeters, with a remarkably long leg span that can reach 5 to 7 centimeters.
Coloration & Markings
Pale gray, yellowish, or light brown base coloration. The cephalothorax usually features a darker central marking, and the translucent body may show subtle darker markings along the abdomen.
Web Type
Irregular, loose 3D tangle webs, often constructed in dark, damp, undisturbed areas such as corners of ceilings, cellars, crawlspaces, and garages.
Eye Arrangement
Eight eyes arranged in two triads on elevated tubercles on the sides of the cap, plus a pair of small median eyes in the front.
Leg Characteristics
Extremely long, thin, and fragile legs lacking strong spines. When disturbed, the spider can vibrate its body rapidly within the web to blur its image as a defense mechanism.
Venom & Safety Information
Venom Information
Contains a mild neurotoxin primarily effective against small insect prey. Its venom is not considered medically significant to humans.
Medical Significance
Harmless to humans. Their chelicerae are generally too weak or short to easily pierce human skin, and envenomation poses no medical threat.
Safety Recommendations
No special safety measures are required. If unwanted indoors, they can be gently relocated outside using a cup and piece of paper.
Habitat & Behavior
Habitat & Range
Cosmopolitan distribution worldwide, heavily associated with human habitations, basements, cellars, dark corners, and occasionally sheltered outdoor locations.
Behavior & Temperament
Docile and non-aggressive. When threatened, it violently shakes or vibrates its web to confuse predators, or drops from the web to escape.
Diet & Prey
Insects and other spiders, famously including larger spiders like widow spiders and funnel-web spiders, which they successfully subdue by wrapping them in silk from a safe distance.
Seasonal Activity
Active year-round indoors, with increased movement and mating activity typically observed during warmer spring and summer months.
Description
The Long-bodied Cellar Spider is a familiar and harmless household companion. Easily recognized by its incredibly spindly legs and small body, it quietly patrols the corners of cellars and ceilings, acting as a natural pest control agent against flies, mosquitoes, and even other spiders.
Key Features
Extremely long, thread-like legs, a small oval or elongated abdomen, and the habit of vibrating rapidly in the web when disturbed.
Similar Species
Harvestmen (Opiliones, which are not true spiders and have a fused body and no silk glands) and Crane Flies (insects with wings and six legs).
Life Cycle
Females carry their pale, spherical egg sacs in their jaws until the spiderlings hatch. Young undergo multiple molts to reach maturity, with a total lifespan that can span several years.
Ecological Importance
Serves as an effective apex predator within household and structural microhabitats, helping control populations of nuisance insects and other potentially troublesome spiders.
Conservation Status
Not evaluated by the IUCN, but populations are secure, abundant, and widely distributed globally due to their strong association with human structures.
Interesting Facts
Despite an urban legend claiming they are the most venomous spiders with fangs too short to bite humans, this is entirely false; their venom is weak and they can occasionally bite humans with minimal or no effect.
Photography Tips
Use macro lenses with a high depth of field to keep both the tiny body and the long legs in focus. Soft side-lighting helps reveal subtle cephalothorax markings.
Identified: 2026-10-05T20:34:18.613429