phalangioides has a number of attributes and behaviours that enable it to predate on larger spiders. The size difference between these two spiders is substantial and the one you’d expect to be the hunter is the prey. There are plenty of araneophagic animals out there, but what fascinates me is the contest between these cellar spiders are your typical “house spiders”, Eratigena atrica (or Tegeneria depending on your phylogenetic stance… a topic for another day). That’s right, even arachnophobes are going to want these guys occupying their homes. Whilst they are often overlooked due to their abundance, they exhibit numerous fascinating behaviours.ĭespite their spindly appearance, these thin bodied arachnids are deadly spider hunters. Pholcids are well known for their incredibly long legs when compared to their body size and their messy, tangled webs. These spiders are spread across the world and found on every continent apart from Antarctica. They belong to the spider family Pholcidae, which is among the most speciose spider families and is comprised of approximately 1500 species (Dimitrov et al., 2013). The cellar spider ( Pholcus phalangioides), is also sometimes called a ‘daddy-longlegs’ but this is a term that I greatly dislike, due to it being used for so many different organisms (crane flies, harvestmen etc). So, I thought I would write a little post about why these common house invaders are one of my favourite species and why they should be a welcomed house guest. However, being incredibly common, does not make them boring, in fact they display several behaviours that make them particularly interesting. If you don’t believe me then go and open your airing cupboard, garage, or garden shed and I guarantee you’ll find one of these spindly spiders. I am pretty confident that these guys are probably one the most frequently encountered spiders out there, yep that’s right I am talking about the cellar spider ( Pholcus phalangioides). If you are dealing with cellar spider problems in your home, contact your local spider exterminators.If, like me, you live in the UK then you will have seen this spider. They continuously add to it, creating large amounts of webbing which becomes a nuisance to remove and an eyesore in homes and commercial buildings. Many species of spiders consume their old web before making a new one, but cellar spiders do not. Cellar spiders are considered nuisance pests, due to the large amounts of webbing they produce. Historically, cellar spiders are not known to bite humans and, therefore, do not pose a health threat. Cellar Spider Behaviors, Threats, or DangersĪlthough cellar spiders do have venom, they aren’t a cause for concern.
Male and female cellar spiders may be found in climate-controlled structures year-round. Cellar spiders build irregular messy webs and are highly sensitive to vibrations and will close in on an unsuspecting insect rapidly if it happens to wander into its web. Indoors, are often found in damp cellars, basements, crawl spaces, garages, and dark, quiet places.
In nature, cellar spiders usually live in the openings of caves, or crevices in cliffs, and other protected places. Cellar spiders are the natural enemy of large house spiders that live in homes, and will also feed on flies, bees, wasps, and even other cellar spiders when food is scarce. These spiders can be seen in corners and ceilings, usually hanging belly-up. Some species of cellar spiders are very common in homes, especially in garages, basements, and cellars, hence the common name. They are sometimes referred to as daddy longlegs spiders, which are quite different and unrelated.
Cellar spiders are inconspicuous, harmless, fragile spiders with extremely long, thin legs.