granddaddy longlegs-good or bad, orchid-wise? - Orchid Board

VickiC · #1 11-13-2010, 01:00 PM

First of all, my camera is on the blink, so I'm unable to post a picture....memory card failure (although a photo might not have been necessary this time). ???

There are several granddaddy longlegs (Pholcus phalangioides, according to the Internet) in my greenhouse this season and I have been wondering if they are beneficial or detrimental to orchids. My husband says that since they are carnivorous, he assumes they are helpful by catching insects that would be harmful to my plants, but that he didn't know about plant tissue. Just this morning, I closely watched one crawling around on a plant - mostly on a catt. new growth - and it looked as if it's mouthpart was very close or on the growth. (There was not another insect on that new growth, by the way)

Would someone please advise me if I should or should not 'remove' them from my plants?

Thanks in advance,
Vicki

bullsie · #2 11-13-2010, 01:42 PM

They're good. Very very good!!! Last year I put my orchids outside and they were crawling with the longleggers. I had no parasite problems. This year, no daddylongleggers and I am up to my armpits in pests.

trdyl · #3 11-13-2010, 03:00 PM

They are very good to have around your plants.

VickiC · #4 11-13-2010, 03:34 PM

That's good to know. I noticed only 1 scale in the whole greenhouse the last few weeks, but I didn't make the connection. I'm new to the orchid world (less than 3 yrs.) and I just assumed maybe the almost-no insects had something to do with the time of year or else it was just coincidental. Your info is one more thing I'll add to my "you live, you learn" list. By the way, the longlegs are everywhere...open porch, etc. Since we have an abundance of them, I'll be glad to send some your way so that they can take care of your parasite problem. Let me know.

Thanks for your help. They would be glad to know that they're going to be allowed to continue living there.

Vicki

Quote:

Originally Posted by bullsie

They're good. Very very good!!! Last year I put my orchids outside and they were crawling with the longleggers. I had no parasite problems. This year, no daddylongleggers and I am up to my armpits in pests.

VickiC · #5 11-13-2010, 03:41 PM

Thank you, Ted. Moving them from my greenhouse to somewhere else is one less job I'll have to deal with....that's good.
Thanks again,
Vicki

Quote:

Originally Posted by trdyl

They are very good to have around your plants.

Ray · #6 11-13-2010, 06:10 PM

Interesting enough, they have some of THE MOST toxic venom among spiders. Fortunately, they have so little of it that it has no impact on critters our size.

Izzie · #7 11-13-2010, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray

Interesting enough, they have some of THE MOST toxic venom among spiders. Fortunately, they have so little of it that it has no impact on critters our size.

I heard that it didn't hurt us because their mouths were too small to even break our skin. In any case, I agree- kind of ironic that they are the most venomous!

We had ones as big as dinner plates in TX. I'm sure they were good for the plants, but they were NOT good for my mental well-being as a 6 year old.

In CO, I now have Brown Reclus to be terrified of. But I love my Daddy Longlegs!!!! They do a great job of pest control. I think they're kind of cute.

VickiC · #8 11-13-2010, 07:26 PM

That is interesting. I actually didn't know the fact that their very toxic venom is not a threat to us or creatures our size because of the small amount, but I have often heard that their 'fangs' are too small to penetrate our skin to inject it. I say this with deep gratitude.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray

Interesting enough, they have some of THE MOST toxic venom among spiders. Fortunately, they have so little of it that it has no impact on critters our size.

RosieC · #9 11-14-2010, 07:52 AM

Ah, if it's Pholcus phalangioides then it should be fine. When I first read Granddaddy Longlegs I thought of an insect called a crane fly (in the family Tipulidae) which has either that name or just Daddy Longlegs in this country.

Crane fly larvae damage lawns by eating roots and I've heard they can damage the roots of other plants as well.

On the issue of Pholcus phalangioides and their venom... this is what Wikkipedia has to say...

"An urban legend states that Pholcidae are the most venomous spiders in the world, but because their fangs are unable to penetrate human skin, they are harmless to humans. However, recent research has shown that pholcid venom has a relatively weak effect on insects.[3] In the MythBusters episode "Daddy Long-Legs" it was shown that the spider's fangs (0.25mm) could penetrate human skin (0.1mm) but that only a very mild burning feeling was felt for a few seconds."

Connie Star · #10 11-14-2010, 09:42 PM

Hi Folks,
My husband is a self-taught expert on opilionids, one of the 13 orders of arachnids, only one of which is the true spiders. All spiders are arachnids, but not all arachnids are spiders. Daddy long legs, aka harvestment, are opilionids. They produce no venom. Part of the confusion is that there is a true spider in Australia also named Daddy Long Legs, which has a weak venom, and interestingly preys on a more venomous spider related to our black widows. That's the long legs that is Pholcus phalangioides.
Opilionids don't have fangs. Rather they capture their prey with spines on their pedipalps (literally "foot feelers") and pinchers on their chelicera, and then feed the prey into their mouths.
I've got a couple of pictures. These guys are from Costa Rica. #1 shows the creature from the front, and #2 is a closeup of it's mouth parts. Pretty neat, huh?
One of the reasons that I can't use any insecticides inside the house is that DH keeps a lot of these little guys as pets and breeds them. He won't let me use them as bio-controls on my orchids, tho!