Believe it or not, I’d never photographed any Daddy Long Legs before. I was happy to take photos of an Eastern Harvestman on a blooming sedum two evenings ago.
Eastern Harvestman on a blooming sedum – Canon R7, handheld, f11, 1/160, ISO 500, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light
The soft, pale pink sedum flowers made a wonderful setting for the long-legged arachnid. The evening light looked nice too.
Eastern Harvestman close up – Canon R7, handheld, f11, 1/160, ISO 500, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light
Eastern Harvestmen are not true spiders, even though their long legs might make them seem like spiders.
Eastern Harvestmen are found throughout eastern North America, from southern Canada to the Gulf Coast states. They inhabit a variety of environments, including forests, meadows, gardens, and urban areas, and are often found in moist, shaded locations.
Eastern Harvestman on a flowering sedum – Canon R7, handheld, f11, 1/200, ISO 500, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light
These harvestmen are omnivores, feeding on small insects, plant matter, fungi, and decaying organic material.
This one may have been feeding on the sedum, or it may have been foraging for tiny insects. I didn’t see it eat anything while it was in my viewfinder.
Eastern Harvestman in Arkansas – Canon R7, handheld, f11, 1/250, ISO 500, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light
Eastern Harvestmen are also known as “harvesters” due to their tendency to appear in large numbers during harvest season.
Speaking of harvest time, happy first day of autumn!
I actually had fun photographing this Eastern Harvestman on the pink flowers. I’ll be looking for more of them in the future!
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my insect and spider images.
Very interesting. Not knowing any better…I would have mistaken the Harvestman for a spider as well. Wonderful shots. Thanks Mia.
I remember playing with them as a child in Virginia.
I see our daddy long legs much more often inside than out. And leave them be.
Great photos, we used to have so many, I seldom see them in my yard any more. I only use insecticide on the fruit trees for bores the last three years and a systemic on the euonymus for the scale, no where else. I stopped seeing them about 10 years ago. I have caught my tenant spraying her outside window wells from time to time, she doesn’t like spiders or earwigs that get into her apartment. Funny thing is the window wells use to have just a cement base but for some reason she filled them all with round landscape rocks, it created even a better habitat for bugs. If she moves I will take it all out again. I hope her spraying is not enough to wipe all of them out in my yard. She has been renting my basement for 15 years.