Sunday, June 26, 2005


When I got closer, Lisa immediately informed me we had a "situation". Here it is...can you see the "daddy long legs"? The two spots of goop in the crack? For whatever reason, the daddy long legs (actually these are harvestmen, to be more accurate), kept coming back to this spot when removed. Lisa thought they might be egg sacs. I've done some research online (that's how I know they're harvestmen and not real spiders-one section for the body, not two, only two eyes, not eight). In any case, what I was able to determine is a few things (the goal of this research was an attempt to find out how long that sac would be there before babies would hatch and leave). First, harvestmen (opiliones) are not, as I said, actually spiders. They don't have venom, and they don't spin silk. So that must be some kind of foam they lay their eggs in. I've blown up the shot on my computer (5 megapixels) and it looks clear, like a gel, over something tan, maybe eggs. I don't know. Anyway, we've spent a lot of time worrying over them. Hopefully they're not too damaged, we tried to avoid them. The harvestmen themselves were fine, but kept coming back. We finally decided to work around them. I took on the assignment of finding out how long those egg sacs will be there. Hence, the story I can tell you now! : ) Posted by Hello

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