Harvestmen are non-aggressive, non-venomous and are considered harmless to people and pets.
Area of distribution - Australia-wide - from rain forest, woodlands, to even more arid regions of the country.
Identification - see pictures above - Adult body length of up to 1 cm. They have very long spindly legs and are commonly mistaken for 'daddy-long-legs' spiders.
Harvestmen are technically not spiders eg they do not have a waist; do not produce silken webs. Harvestmen have two eyes whereas spiders, which generally possess eight eyes.
Habitat - Harvestmen live in moist leaf litter, under rotting rocks, logs or the bark of trees. When the young harvestmen hatch they resemble small adults and will moult several times before reaching maturity. They are omnivorous, eating other insects and spiders, plant matter, and even the rotting carcasses of birds and mammals. |
