You're looking at an unholy cluster of harvestmen. These wannabes aren't true spiders, since their body is all one segment, not two, like all real spiders. Sorry, but that distinction is of no comfort to me. Heebie-jeebies don't pay attention to body segments.
Thanks for the photo, Jack. You've driven me to the pharmacy to stock up on meds.
Photo courtesy: Cellar.org
Wow! That's a lot of creepy crawlies! Is there any story behind that picture? I've never seen so many together at once!
ReplyDeleteeew!
ReplyDeletegrossss attack
ReplyDeleteoh god. i cannot even look at that. now i'm going to have nightmares. thanks. uuuugh.
ReplyDeleteOh Jesus! At first I thought it was some sort of slime mold, then the horrifying realization came: those aren't hairs, they're LEGS.
ReplyDeleteI was going to eat lunch, but now I'm not hungry.
I've never heard of harvest men, but the creepy-ness reminds me of 'daddy longlegs's spiders. I was always completely freaked out at them and their wiggly legs. Especially after you smash them and their legs keep wiggling...
ReplyDeleteHarvestmen and Daddy Longlegs is the same thing. And don't smash them! They're good at keeping disease spreading bugs out of your house.
ReplyDeleteI'll see if I can stop shuddering long enough to type this ...
ReplyDeleteOpilionids (harvestmen, as shown) use aggregation as a defense mechanism. They gather together in big bunches and pump up and down. This behavior is also thought to conserve moisture in arid regions. It's also freaking scary.
I think this is the first post on this blog that has REEEEALLY given me the jibblies...
Ah, Daddy Long-Legs...When I was a kid we'd find huge clumps of these guys all over the place. Being utterly unafraid of creepy-crawlies, my favorite thing was to run my hand through the mass and feel them tickling all up my arm. They smell like ammonia when you disturb them, and scurry away bumping their little bodies against the wall.
ReplyDeleteBecause of the way they looked, my Mom used to call crowds of daddy long-legs "armpits." To this day that's what I call them if I find them! *LOL*
I can't help shuddering when I see this pictures. Not just ugly, but truly frightening.
ReplyDeleteAnd Denita, it just makes it worse picturing someone running their hands through such a horror.
*shudder*
Denita, that might be the worst thing I have ever heard. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's fun to make people go "eeee!" Like in school when you turned your eyelids inside out.
ReplyDeleteImagine walking round the house, just woken up, looking up and AAARRRGGGHHH!! I knew I should have closed that window lol!
ReplyDelete