Pholcus phalangioides eating Nephrotoma appendiculata

Pholcus phalangioides eating Nephrotoma appendiculata

Description

Title:
Pholcus phalangioides eating Nephrotoma appendiculata
Caption / Description:

The cellar spider or daddy longlegs (Pholcus phalangioides), also known as the skull spider due to its cephalothorax looking like a human skull, is a spider of the family Pholcidae. Females have a body length of about 9 mm; males are slightly smaller. Its legs are about 5 or 6 times the length of its body (reaching up to 7 cm of leg span in females).

Its habit of living on the ceilings of rooms, caves, garages or cellars gives rise to its common name of 'cellar spider'. In Australian homes, they are considered beneficial because it is sometimes believed they will kill and eat the venomous Redback spider.

This is the only spider species described by the Swiss entomologist Johann Kaspar Füssli who first recorded it for science in 1775. Confusion often arises over its common name, because "daddy longlegs" is also applied to two other unrelated arthropods: the harvestman and the crane fly.

Pholcus phalangioides has the habit of shaking its web violently when disturbed as a defence mechanism against predators. They can easily catch and eat other spiders (even those much larger than itself, such as Tegenaria duellica), mosquitoes and other insects, and woodlice. When food is scarce, they will prey on their own kind.

Because they originally came from the tropics, these spiders do not seem to be aware of seasonal changes and breed at any time of the year. The female holds the 20 to 30 eggs in her pedipalps. Spiderlings are transparent with short legs and change their skin about 5 or 6 times as they mature.

Description taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholcus_phalangioides

Tags / Keywords:
  • Biota
  • Life
  • Vitae
  • Eukaryota
  • Animalia
  • Animals
  • Arthropoda
  • Arthropods
  • Insecta
  • Insects
  • Diptera
  • Flies
  • Arachnida
  • Arachnids
  • Araneae
  • Spiders
  • Pholcidae
  • Daddy longlegs spiders
  • Pholcus
  • Pholcus phalangioides
  • Cellar spider
  • Tipulidae
  • Crane flies
  • Daddy long legs
  • Nephrotoma
  • Tiger crane flies
  • Nephrotoma appendiculata
  • Spotted crane fly

Admin

Date Original Photo Taken:
Original File Name:
_MG_3173.CR2
Event:
Rating:
Date this image added/last updated on website:
Original File Dimensions:
2848px x 4272px
File Type:
JPEG
Color Mode:
RGB
Original Image Color Profile:
Adobe RGB (1998)

Location

Location Created:
Sublocation:
City:
Market Harborough
Province/State:
Leicestershire
Country:
United Kingdom
World Region:
Europe
Geo-location:

Rights

Copyright Status:
Copyrighted
Licensing Status:
Rights Managed
Available for Editorial Use:
Yes
Available for Commercial Use:
Yes
Copyright Notice:
© 2010 Dave Kennard

Camera Data

Date Digital Resource was created:
Shutter speed:
1200 s
Aperture:
f/8
Camera Model:
Canon EOS 450D
ISO:
100
Exposure Compensation:
0
Focal Length:
100mm
Focal Length (35mm equiv.):
Metering Mode:
Multi-segment
Flash:
On, Fired
Exposure Mode:
Manual
White Balance:
Manual
Light Source:
Exposure Program:
Manual

Additional shooting metadata

Lens:
Canon EF 100mm F2.8 Macro USM
Filters used:
Additional Optics used:
Setup:
Handheld
Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin Flash with home-made concave diffusers

Post Processing

Image Modified:
Software used:
  • Adobe Camera RAW
Post Processing:

20 recovery in ACR
+11 clarity in ACR
Strong curves adjustment to increase contrast in ACR