Leggy Bugs--Daddy Longlegs

Previously, I wrote about the crane fly as a leggy buggy. At that time, I made a passing remark about them being called daddy longlegs in the UK. (A humongous crane fly that landed on my door inspired me to photograph and write up about crane flies before writing this daddy longlegs article.)

Did you know that daddy longlegs can be three types of very long-legged bugs? "Why Are They Called Daddy Longlegs?" explains.

That name is often used to describe several different creatures. For example, it may be used to describe the long-legged crane fly, which is an insect, or long-legged cellar spiders, which are true spiders. Mostly, though, daddy longlegs is used to refer to Opiliones, which are an order of arachnids also known as harvestmen. … Harvestmen have one body section and two eyes, while most spiders have two body sections and eight eyes.

The following table lists some very basic differences among them.

	large crane fly	cellar spider	harvestman
# legs	6	8	8
wings?	y	n	n
# eyes	2	8	2
silk/web spinner?	n	y	n
body sections	head, thorax, abcomen	head/thorax (cephalothorax), abdomen	single section

View my pixstrip for rudimentary drawings of the bugs; the text indicates very abbreviated animal hierarchy.

"Who's the daddy? Are daddy longlegs actually spiders? Are they poisonous and how do you get rid of them?" has a few good passages that describe these bugs.

While the common English insect commonly referred to as a daddy long-legs is in fact NOT a spider, there is actually also a type of spider that is sometimes also referred to as a daddy long-legs and another type of arachnid that is also known as a daddy long-legs.

Brits generally use the word daddy long-legs to refer to craneflies – long-legged winged insects which are not spiders.

The article has sections for bird's eye views (grin) about comparing and contrasting the three bugs:

• What are the differences between craneflies and spiders?
• What are the similarities between harvestmen and spiders?
• What are the differences between harvestmen and spiders?

"Daddy Longlegs: Spiders & Other Critters" provides good overview differentiations also, including the following topics:

• Harvestmen & crane flies
• Cellar spiders
• Taxonomy/classification for cellar spiders, harvestmen, and crane flies

Visit BugGuide's three sites for these leggy bugs, which include tabs for taxonomy, general information, images, and US map of states indicating habitat (Data).

• Family Tipulidae - Large Crane Flies
• Family Pholcidae - Cellar Spiders
• Order Opiliones - Harvestmen

More resources:

• "Best Daddy Long Legs Explanation"
  Video includes clips and narration about all three leggy bugs, with emphasis on the cellar spider.
• "Myth: Daddy-longlegs would be deadly but..."
  Site includes side-by-side images of harvestman, cellar spider, and crane fly.
• 'Spider Identification: Cellar Spiders and Harvestman Arachnids"
  This video differentiates the two leggy arachnids—cellar spider and harvestman.
• "Cluster of Daddy Longlegs (Harvestmen) - Ajijic, Mexico"
  This video shows clumped harvestmen scattering, with text that explains basic differences between them and spiders.
• "What happens when you prod a Daddy Long Legs?"
  This video shows a cellar spider vibrating, using the movement as possibly evasion against a perceived predator.
• "Spider Anatomy"
  Arachnophobic? The diagram can be terrifying if you are, amusing if you're not.
• "Cellar Spider Catching a Crane Fly" This video features two of the three leggy bugs meeting for a meal. That's life, or not.
• Daddy longleg jerks (Far Side cartoon)
  From the body shapes (one segment instead of two distinct ones), I'd say these leggy bugs are harvestmen rather than spiders.

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Leggy Bugs articles:

• Centipedes and Millipedes
• Caterpillars (Lepidopteran Larvae, which Become Butterflies and Moths)
• Inchworms
• Crane Flies
• Daddy Longlegs
• Walking Sticks
• Praying Mantises
• Huntsman Spiders
• Grasshoppers

Leggy Bugs--Crane Flies

In case you spot a leggy bug that looks like a huuuuuge mosquito (REALLY huge), chances are good that it’s a non-biting, non-stinging crane fly. Within a few months of moving to Central Texas many years ago, I spotted a humongous long-legged bug that I initially thought was a daddy longlegs. However, it had six legs. I then thought it might be a Texas-sized mosquito.

Don’t they make everything bigger in this state? I avoided it, as I was afraid it’d spear me deeply! Over the years, I heard that it wasn’t a mosquito.

A few weeks ago, I spotted a humongously long-legged bug on my back storm door. I was able to take only one picture before it flew off! I estimated it to be at least 4 inches top to bottom, about the size if I held my thumb and forefinger apart as a guide. This bug, as I've been told, is a crane fly, which, incidentally, is called a daddy longlegs in UK.

Actually, I had been planning to write about daddy longlegs, the 8-legged kind. I’ve queued it up for the next article.

On LinkedIn, I requested help with IDing the bug, posting a cropped and color/contrast modified image. Two people piped up and declared it a crane fly, and pasted a couple of links. Pinning down my exact specimen’s category became really difficult. Sooooo many members in the crane fly group! The Bug Guide search for “crane fly” yielded loads of hits.

From using BG and other bug links, I’ve settled that my bug is in Arthropods (Arthropoda) > Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) > Flies (Diptera) > "Nematocera" (Non-Brachycera) > Crane Flies (Tipulomorpha) > Large Crane Flies (Tipulidae) > Tipulinae > Tipula.

Because I was able to shoot only one picture, I wondered how to gauge the size. I decided to try to replicate the photo’s background and include a measuring stick. A few days of shooting, and I came up with the composite with a superimposed reduced-opacity measuring stick, then cropped it. I’d say the crane fly measured at least four inches leg tip to leg tip, as my upper image indicates. The following pixstrip shows the integration of two main images into one.

Most of the crane fly sites I’ve run across list body lengths in mm. Most of sites regarding even the giant ones state maybe less than an inch. I’d say my bug reaches an inch or so. Anyway, one site with loads of info is “The Crane Flies (Diptera:Tipulidae of Pennsylvania)”. The section about Tibula is way at the bottom.

I think my bug resembles the Tipula disjuncta crane fly by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland. Although my bug looks ghostly white, I’m not sure how the lighting, flash-on, and my distance might have affected how it photographed. And I wish it’d been in better focus.

Piqued further about crane flies? Besides visiting the Bug Guide and Pennsylvania Crane Fly sites, buzz around the following sites.

From Entomology Today's "Mosquito Hawk? Skeeter Eater? Giant Mosquito? No, No, and No"

They have a narrow body with two long and slender wings, as well as six stilt-like legs that can be twice as long as the body. Crane flies are diverse in wing pattern, color, and size.

From "The Crane Fly vs. The Mosquito! A Case of Mistaken Identity: A Crane Fly is not a Giant Mosquito!"

It is important to differentiate between these two bugs because mosquitoes transmit diseases like West Nile virus, encephalitis and Malaria, killing millions of people worldwide each year. Crane flies cannot bite and they do not carry diseases.

SHERDOG “crane fly and mosquito” comparison info with diagram

From Wikipedia's "Crane fly" site

Adult crane flies have very long legs and a long, thin abdomen. It is very easy to accidentally break off their delicate legs when catching crane flies. Their thin legs and abdomen may help them to escape from birds who try to eat them. Females have larger abdomens in comparison to the males. The female abdomen also ends in a pointed ovipositor that looks a bit like a stinger. Crane flies cannot sting.

“Crane Flies - Infraorder Tipulomorpha”
View lots of images, accompanied with their scientific category names (“often referred to as ‘large’ crane flies, with 4,269 recognized species”). Also visit links at http://cirrusimage.com/ for totally distracting macro images of North American insects and spiders and accompanying summaries.

Google image search for "crane flies"

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Leggy Bugs articles:

• Centipedes and Millipedes
• Caterpillars (Lepidopteran Larvae, which Become Butterflies and Moths)
• Inchworms
• Crane Flies
• Daddy Longlegs
• Walking Sticks
• Praying Mantises
• Huntsman Spiders
• Grasshoppers

Leggy Bugs--Inchworms

Inchworms are caterpillars in the Geometridae family of Lepidopteran larvae, which I wrote about in “Leggy Bugs—Caterpillars (Lepidopteran Larvae, which Become Butterflies and Moths)”. They have front and back leggy sections and long middles—caterpillars' version of canines' dachshund.

Wisegeek’s “What Are Inchworms?” has an overview and an image for introduction for these critters. They're leggier than adult insects, but seemingly shortchanged compared to caterpillars in my previous article. (I used the picture as a basis for my blog image.)

For a more extensive introduction to inchworm and animal categorization, Bug Guide's website for “Family Geometridae - Geometrid Moths” is a good place to start.

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Geometroidea (Geometrid, Swallowtail Moths)
Family Geometridae (Geometrid Moths)

Although inchworms are caterpillars, their locomotion is so odd that they deserve an article all their own. Their family, Geometridae, pertains to “earth” and “measuring”. Their physiology is more specialized than the caterpillars I wrote about previously. The Bug Guide explains:

the lack of prolegs in the middle of the body necessitates the peculiar method of locomotion, drawing the hind end up to the thoracic legs to form a loop, and then extending the body forward.

An excellent video of inchworm locomotion on a flat surface is “Inchworm Walking”. The caterpillar thrusts its front section forward, pulls the rear section up to the front legs, forming a loop, then repeats the motion. Its movement makes me think of a pelvis-shape strong enough to thrust out a very long torso and head. And yet, when fully extended, the head and front “arms” are strong enough to hoist the body and legs back to immediately behind the front end. The movement also seems like something a small, self-propelled slinky might make.

From Encyclopedia.com’s "Inchworm" description of inchworm movement:

inchworms lack appendages in the middle portion of their body, causing them to have a characteristic looping gait. They have three pairs of true legs at the front end, like other caterpillars, but only two or three pairs of prolegs (larval abdominal appendages), located at the rear end. An inchworm moves by drawing its hind end forward while holding on with the front legs, then advancing its front section while holding on with the prolegs.

The Bug Guide’s “Superfamily Geometroidea - Geometrid and Swallowtail Moths” provides most explanations and descriptions at the subfamily level.

Inchworms, unlike general caterpillars, metamorphose into only moths. Sciencing’s “Inchworm Life Cycle” explains:

The thousands of moth species in the family Geometridae are often referred to as inchworms when in the caterpillar stage. … This group of moths has a complete metamorphosis: They go through four stages during their life cycle.

More website resources:

• Mom.me's webpages with basic information about inchworms and moths that they become—
  • “Inchworm Facts”
  • "Facts About Inchworms for Kids"
  • “Inchworm Identification"
  • "The Lifespan of the Inchworm"
• “Chrysodeixis eriosoma”
  Caterpillars that resemble inchworms in looks and movements: “Some of their ventral prolegs are missing and this makes them move looper fashion, like the Caterpillars of GEOMETRIDAE.”

Additional videos featuring inchworms and their movements, some with interesting sways:

• "Inchworms"
  Ability to lift their front of the body at an angle as though bending from hips.
• “INCREDIBLE INCHWORM”
  Acrobatic inchworm with hoisting its body almost totally vertical on horizontal surface and other seemingly gravity-defying surface grippings.
• “Inch worm Highway”
  Inchworm walking the front legs forward, then dragging the rest of the body and rear legs forward. The body forms a loop as the rear section stops just behind the front legs.
• “Inchworm”
  Another great example of locomotion, this inchworm being brown-patterned.
• “The Happy Inchworm”
  Animation that shows motion as push from behind, pull from front, and no separate leg movement. This video is more for entertainment, although some commenters object to the violent outcome.

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Leggy Bugs articles:

• Centipedes and Millipedes
• Caterpillars (Lepidopteran Larvae, which Become Butterflies and Moths)
• Inchworms
• Crane Flies
• Daddy Longlegs
• Walking Sticks
• Praying Mantises
• Huntsman Spiders
• Grasshoppers

Leggy Bugs—Caterpillars (Lepidopteran Larvae, which Become Butterflies and Moths)

Butterfly and moth caterpillars have fewer legs than the leggy bugs I wrote about last month (“Leggy Bugs--Centipedes and Millipedes”).

One nice image I found was helpful with identifiers. View a nicely captured example of movement at "Close-up Caterpillar Footage".

My image shows a caterpillar with two possible paths to adulthood of butterfly or moth. The pupa stage is chrysalis or cocoon. A butterfly emerges from a chrysalis, and a moth emerges from a cocoon. Their antennae and body shapes differ. Butterflies are active in the daytime, while moths are active at night.

North Carolina State University's "Lepidoptera" site succinctly describes the order that butterflies and moths belong to:

The name Lepidoptera, derived from the Greek words "lepido" for scale and "ptera" for wings, refers to the flattened hairs (scales) that cover the body and wings of most adults.”

The site includes basic information about the caterpillar life cycle and the adult stages as butterflies and moths. It also discusses animal classification terminology, noting that Lepidoptera is a category (order) under Insecta (class). It also summarizes subcategories (families) of lepidoptera. One family, Geometridae, includes inchworms. (Their locomotion is so weird to me that I'm going to save writing about them in my next article.)

I’ve always wondered about caterpillars having many legs, yet emerging as butterflies or moths after complete metamorphosis, with only six legs. For differentiation between complete (four-stage) and incomplete (three-stage) insect metamorphosis, visit the Pacific Science Center Exhibits “Metamorphosis” site.

Another curiosity for me is that “caterpillar” is their larval term, whether they emerge as either of the flying insects. Swithzoo’s "Caterpillar" site explains: “The caterpillar's six front legs transform into the adult insect's legs, the other 'prolegs' disappear, wings grow, and the insect emerges as a beautiful moth or butterfly.”

Purdue’s “Is It a Moth or Is It a Butterfly?” elaborates on the caterpillar’s prolegs and other characteristics:

Caterpillars have a well-developed head and a cylindrical body, which is made up of 13 segments. Each of the three segments behind the head has a pair of legs, just like adult insects. But caterpillars also have some additional, fleshy, leg-like appendages - called prolegs - on other segments. Prolegs have tiny hooks at the end that function to grasp things such as the stems and leaves of plants.

The Library of Congress site “How can you tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth?” provides loads of helpful, short, section titles about these insects (wings, anatomy, behavior, cocoon/chrysalis, …).

Backyard Nature's site "Caterpillars” shows an image that indicates the site’s focus on these animals’ voraciousness—webpage title imaged as leaves chewed into contours of “CATERPILLARS”. Visit for close looks and reads about these leggy bugs.

More resources:

• GardeneGateeNotes “Cocoon versus chrysalis”
  This site shows a cocoon and chrysalis side by side and provides a short, nuts and bolts explanation.
• Diffen's "Butterfly vs. Moth"
  This site has a handy two-column table at the top, then more details and images. This site also includes a Related Comparisons section with links to pages comparing other related insects, other similar animals.
• Easy Science for Kids "Butterflies and Moths"
  A table near the top shows differences between moths and butterflies, followed by basic text and a diagram (parts identified) for those who are just starting to look into these flighty insects.
• Brittanica Kids site
  The main attraction is a helpful diagram of a butterfly and moth side-by-side and corresponding parts identifiers.
• Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species site for “Butterflies and moths”
  This site’s format is question-and-answer, with basic and elementary approach.
• “Moths vs Butterflies”
  Entertaining video (mostly narration) of basic contrasts between these flyers.

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Leggy Bugs articles:

• Centipedes and Millipedes
• Caterpillars (Lepidopteran Larvae, which Become Butterflies and Moths)
• Inchworms
• Crane Flies
• Daddy Longlegs
• Walking Sticks
• Praying Mantises
• Huntsman Spiders
• Grasshoppers

Leggy Bugs--Centipedes and Millipedes

Leggy bugs can mean bugs that have lots of legs, or bugs that have long legs. Animal-kingdom bugs can mean insects (6 legs), arachnids (8 legs), or for me, creepy crawlies with way more legs than I care to count. Let's get to the long-bodied creepy crawlies first. Google is a great starting resource for viewing images (for this article, centipedes and millipedes).

Centipedes

Enchanted Learning shows a diagram and descriptive terms of parts. A more detailed diagram is at Amateur Entomologists' Society. Both of these webpages have good elementary information.

Millipedes

Google's hits for millipede images show some atop hands and other body parts (cringe). For sizes, one image that surprised me greatly showed someone using both hands to hold one. On the other hand (grin), one image shows a millipede on a finger, and another shows one with a penny.

Enchanted Learning shows a diagram and descriptive terms of parts. EL's millipede diagram is much more detailed than for the centipede. Amateur Entomologists' Society's diagram is similar to its centipede one.

The University of Bristol's 'Morphology" webpage has a really detailed image and scholastic explanation of anatomy. (The home page "Diplopoda" provides overview of millipedes.) BTW, "Chilopoda" is the term for centipedes, but U of Bristol doesn't have a special section for it. That is, replacing the URL part "chilopoda" for "diplopod" yields a not-found page.

My section about centipedes is short and the millipedes section only a bit longer. The most interesting information might be contrasts between the two creepy crawlies.

Centipede vs Millipede

A big difference in looks between these bugs is the number of legs per segment. Centipedes have one pair, and millipedes have two pairs. One helpful image with side by side drawings and descriptors is at the "Centipede vs. Millipede" section of "Top 10 Facts About Millipedes"..

In seeing so many Google image hits for millipedes where people handle them, I sensed that centipedes might be less receptive to handling than millipedes. Maybe another reason. Centipedes bite. "Millipedes of Petroglyph" provides a section for differentiating the two animals, and especially warning about the centipede's capability to bite and hurt. For a video featuring someone capturing one of each and explaining differences, view "Millipede vs Centipede!".

Additional sites that contrast these two members of Myriapoda (many-legged) subphylum—

• "Millipedes Vs Centipedes"
• "Millipedes or Centipedes"
• "Centipedes & Millipedes"
• "Centipedes vs. Millipedes?"
• "Which is Which?" portion of "GIANT AFRICAN MILLIPEDE"

For some whimsy, visit Gaming History about "Centipede" and "Millipede". Both sites describe the video games, scoring, and technical details. The Millipede site notes that the game (the successor to Centipede) had been originally called Centipede Deluxe. The Millipede site, besides describing the game play and technical details, includes a trivia section on differences between the two games. For videos about the games, visit YouTube and enter appropriate keywords.

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Leggy Bugs articles:

• Centipedes and Millipedes
• Caterpillars (Lepidopteran Larvae, which Become Butterflies and Moths)
• Inchworms
• Crane Flies
• Daddy Longlegs
• Walking Sticks
• Praying Mantises
• Huntsman Spiders
• Grasshoppers