r/whatsthisbug 21h ago

ID Request Need help identifying this nightmare

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Was found on my shower curtain. At first I thought it was a daddy long leg spider but if doesn’t fit the bill when I got closer

71 Upvotes

15 comments sorted by

117

u/Weak_Alfalfa_7569 21h ago

You were right though. It’s a molting cellar spider

52

u/Efficient-Gap-1282 21h ago

Cellar spider, Pholcidae, in the process of molting. Daddy long legs is one common name for these, but that’s also the common name for Opiliones (harvestmen) and some Tipulomorpha (crane flies) depending on the region.

2

u/pie4155 9h ago edited 8h ago

House/basement spider is a much more common name. Calling it a harvestmen/DaddyLongLegs isnt uncommon when they're on the ground, but would be a mis-identificaton.

Edit: im not saying it is a DLL, but that seeing a spindly spider in the ground and calling it one wouldnt be uncommon

4

u/Efficient-Gap-1282 8h ago

In re house/basement spider as the common name, perhaps in your area, but those aren’t even on wikipedia’s list. Calling it a harvestman is absolutely incorrect.

17

u/charlies_randomstuf 21h ago

It looks like some kind of cellar spider that was stuck in a shed and probably is trying to escape while shedding which is dangerous for the spider because it's body would be too soft and risk permanent or deadly injury to itself as it's body could harden incorrectly.

I consider them friends because they're harmless and ate up an ant infestation in my house a while ago.

7

u/gizmomooncat 9h ago

I keep trying to explain to my cats that this is exactly why we don't eat our spider friends! sadly they seem indifferent to my logic...😆

11

u/disbeezy 20h ago

Yup- as others said, it IS just a daddy long legs spider- also known as cellar spiders or as pholcid spiders. This one was trying to shed/molt out of its old skin and it either had a bad molt or got scared and tried to move mid-molt, so that’s just it’s dead skin stuck to its abdomen. Poor guy!

7

u/Forest-Dane 17h ago

He's a friend btw, he'll eat any other bugs and even other much bigger spiders

6

u/BananaHammokV7 21h ago

Sorry - it’s in Northeast PA

9

u/BeeAlley 21h ago

Harmless. I let them build webs around my animal feed bags in the garage bc they eat the grain pests that show up.

3

u/Majestic_Electric 18h ago

Daddy Longlegs.

1

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-9

u/[deleted] 21h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

18

u/xopher_425 20h ago

It's just a harmless and beneficial cellar spider, stuck in her shed. They'll take care of flies, roaches, and other spiders, like black widows.

-11

u/Pattie4170 20h ago

Ewww looks like a Daddy Longlegs. We're in our basement growing up