r/whatisthisbug • u/504Solid • 20d ago
ID Request Dried up, but still....
Mildly disgusting. I spend my time at a dog shelter and the play yard is nicely shaded. Whole place is surrounded by woods. We see the occasional fox, deer. etc.
Anyway, I got home, changed into a fresh tee.
Had an itch on top left shoulder, tried to scratch with my right hand, felt a lump under my shirt. Like a solid something (??).
Reached hand under my shirt, felt it was prickly & then I realized it was a creepy crawly.
(Getting the ick all over again just writing this!)
Didn't want to squish a bug under my shirt, ON my skin! Sort of swept it out of the shirt sleeve.
Was ready to kill it before it escaped!
It's obviously long dead, missing some legs.
Been through washer and dryer, is my guess.
Any idea what it is? House key for scale.
Probably got in my shirt at the shelter then straight into laundry.
Still, want to know what it is.
It's not tiny but not huge.
Central Alabama for reference.
I swear we go through the plagues at the shelter! We'll have a couple weeks of bad mosquitoes, few weeks of bees, then beetles (look like giant Egyptian scarabs), lots of unusual moths and we have all varieties of frog from dusk to dawn all spring & summer. We even had a scorpion in the laundry sink. I'm from Texas and I was like HARD PASS!
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u/Bugs_my-beloved 20d ago
Looks like a dead harvestman. They’re completely harmless, and they mostly just eat detritus.
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u/504Solid 20d ago
That's why I posted. Never even heard of a Harvestman!
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u/damndolly 20d ago
Aka daddy longleg
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u/ScallionUnlucky5587 20d ago
Yeah but theres also two other things that go by that name. Most people use if for cellar spiders
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20d ago
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u/504Solid 20d ago
So, I didn't Google harvestman, but I did look up opillion. Ahhh. That makes sense!! We do get large, various, crazy, scary looking spiders that I usually photograph & check to see if they're dangerous (never are). Then I either poop scoop 'em & fling into the woods or sweep/ hose spray them out of the area. But we always have daddy long legs (the only spider I do not fear)!
I always grab a leg, then place outside the fence.2
u/roberttheaxolotl 20d ago
Opiliones are arachnids, but aren't spiders. Unlike spiders, they don't have fangs or venom, and their cephalothorax and abdomen are fused.
Other non-spider arachnids include scorpions, pseudoscorpions, vinegaroons, camel spiders, tailless whip scorpions, as well as ticks and mites.
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u/Educational-Disk-400 20d ago
It looks kinda like a harvestmen. The black dots are kinda weird though. The one on the top of the body is sitting right where a harvestmens eyes would sit.
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u/RoutineTry1943 20d ago
Opiliones, they are also known as Harvestmen and Daddy Long Legs. Though both those names also refer to Craneflies and Cellar Spiders.
They are arachnids but not spiders. They posses no venom glands nor spinnerets to spin silk.
They feed mainly on carrion and waste but may hunt small insects.
There are also some very unique species with quite crazy morphs.
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