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I’m in the hospital and on many medications and I thought you were asking if you could remove part of the spider without harming the spider.
Hope you get well soon!
Might also have been a poorly phrased question on my part, since English is not my first language!
Thank you! Definitely not your fault. I’m just zonked with meds.
I am going to assume you have a cellar spider. Removing part of the web isn't going to directly harm them. They don't recycle their web so you aren't even removing nutrients from them.
The only way it's going to affect them is by reducing their chances of catching prey. Cellar spiders don't have a sticky web and rather rely on prey brushing up against their web, then rushing there and killing it with a bite. So you are reducing the area they are covering.
They also usually just gradually increase the size of their web. So it's unlikely it will try to rebuild everything you removed at once. Meaning it's not going to waste too much energy.
That's an outrageous amount of nerdiness on such a specific topic. Respect and a nice little boost to you.
Yes, the reduced chance of getting prey was the first thing that sprung to mind and I was mainly thinking about how that would mean increased hunger... but the web was getting too large to ignore, so we needed a compromise. Hope the trim won't affect them too much!
Meaning it’s not going to waste too much energy
That's good to hear! Thanks for all the info!
You’re a true spider bro
Spider has kept insect populations in check and I'm grateful. Plus, they're cute
I was with you until that last sentence.
*Adrian Tchaikovsky has entered the chat *
Insect populations are pretty in check right now, that's for sure
Yes. The web isn’t a horcrux or anything for the spider. I can build new webs.
"intensely_human"
I can build new webs
Something you wanna tell us? 🤨 🕷️
I’m like spider man, man
But if it is a spider with a horcrux there are bigger problems afoot, or aleg, as the case may be...
Unlike spiders, Daddy Longlegs don't spin webs because they do not produce silk. Daddy Long Legs actually have only two eyes unlike spiders who have eight. Another difference is that Daddy Longlegs are not venomous. They do not have fangs or venom glands. - from Google.
There are many arachnids that shares the common name. Opiliones, or harvestmen, is what you are referring to. But a family of spider, phoclcidae or cellar spiders, spin webs and does whatever a spider does.
Yep the common name is regional. "Daddy longlegs" can also sometimes refer to crane flies, aka mosquito hawks/mosquito eaters
Those things are so comically annoying
Especially if you have cats that like to knock shit off tables and shelves while attempting to enforce castle doctrine on them flies.
Wait, I now have to research how they build their webs then, if not by spinning. Thanks for the trivia!
They prefer back and forth motion, shaking if you will, over a circular motion like stirring. Hence they don't spin webs. They prefer them shaken.
"Wait, whaat..? That's amaz-... wait a minute"
No, the daddy long legs you're talking about is a spider and of course it spins its webs. @PolyLlamaRous was talking about something completely different, the harvestman.
From their likely source:
Other Daddy Longlegs
Some of the confusion over whether the daddy longlegs is a spider comes from the fact that there are two are small creatures with that name, and one actually is a spider.
The daddy longlegs spider is the cellar spider. It is pale gray or tan and has banding or chevron markings. Crane flies, which resemble large mosquitoes, are sometimes called daddy longlegs as well.
I was about to reach the same conclusion, as I couldn't find any mentions of alternative ways of spinning webs, so thanks for the confirmation!
I don't think it's an issue to remove part of the web. I've got spiders outside that tend to keep blocking the entryway and I have to destroy parts that get in the way of the path. They're usually back within a day or so.
For a more solid answer, the link below describes moving spiders entirely by relocating part of the web with the spider. I think trimming the web is going to be less stressful than that.
https://askentomologists.com/2015/10/11/how-do-i-relocate-insects-and-spiders/
Appreciate it! I guess, since it's just a little trim around the edges, there shouldn't be problems as you said! If they can survive a relocation they can probably live with a little less web! Thanks!
I don't know anything about daddy long legs, but I'd assume it's okay as long as you don't try and do it when it's in the web.
If it needs a web to live its life then it must be able to account for damage. Whether that means it repairs your damage or it decides another location would be best, it should be able to accommodate.
Thanks! It's a bit difficult to wait for them to move out, since, at least for what I can tell, they never leave the web. I always found the spider in the same spot lol right now they're keeping around the middle, so I could trim the edges of the web without directly touching the spider, if that's what you meant!
As long as you're careful it should be okay. I'm sure it'll scare the shit out of them, they may flee if you trim it, but again, worst case is they decide they need to make a new web elsewhere.
Too bad, I guess it was good real estate!
Just did it, they curled their legs (I guess to keep stability, maybe?) but now they're back to the previous relaxed state I always see them in. It was really just a small trim, hopefully small enough not to scare them away lol I appreciated their efforts to keep bothersome insects away so far and I wish for a long-lasting mutually beneficial relationship
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this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2023
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