Harvestmen (Opiliones)

Harvestmen do look a lot like spiders, but they are actually very different. They have two eyes only and those eyes are located on the front part of the body on some kind of small "hill". Their body consists of just one element and that is a great difference compared to the bodies of insects, spiders and scorpions for instance. Harvestmen cannot make wires or webs, nor are they producing venom. The best known harvestmen have very long legs (that is why they are also known as daddy long legs), but there are species with 'ordinary' legs as well. When threatened harvestmen are able to loose one or more legs. The leg remains on the floor, moving about quickly, thus trying to catch the attackers attention. A harvestman needs only three legs to move about. Even though some harvestmen are carnivores, most will eat almost anything: from freshly caught prey to animals already dead, excretes or plants. Most harvestmen get to be adult in autumn. Their small bodies on long feet are not unlike the carriages used by farmers in the past to bring in hay. That's how they got their name. But they are also known as daddy-long-legs.