Minnesota Seasons - harvestmen (Order Opiliones)

Overview • Description • Distribution • Taxonomy

Overview

Opilliones is a class of arachnids known as harvestmen or colloquially as daddy-long-legs. There are more than 6,650 harvestmen species currently recognized worldwide, though the actual number of living species is thought to be close to 10,000. More than 100 species have been recorded in North America north of Mexico, and at least 22 species have been recorded in Minnesota. They are very common and very widespread, occurring on every continent including Antarctica, where they were undoubtedly introduced by humans.

Harvestmen are found in a wide variety of habitats, including forests, grasslands, wetlands, mountains, caves, and human dwellings. Most feed on small insects, plant material, and fungi. Some are scavengers and feed on carrion and fecal matter. Most species are active at night.

Photo by Alfredo Colon

Description

As with all arachnids, the body has two sections, the cephalothorax, consisting of the head and thorax, and the abdomen. However, unlike spiders, the connection between the two sections is broad, making the body appear to be a single segment. There is a siingle pair of eyes in the middle of the cephalothorax, but these eyes cannot form images. On most species, the legs are very long relative to the body size. The second pair of legs are longest and function as antennae or feelers.


Distribution
		Sources 7, 24, 29, 30, 82.
8/8/2024


Taxonomy
Class	Arachnida (arachnids)

Subordinate Taxa
suborder Cyphophthalmi (mite harvestmen) suborder Dyspnoi suborder Eupnoi suborder Laniatores (armoured harvestmen)

Synonyms


Common Names
daddy-long-legs harvestmen


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Alfredo Colon


Greg Watson

Harvestman with a Hickory Hairstreak


Bill Reynolds

Hanging Around in a Tansy Patch


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Harvestmen
Andree Reno Sanborn

Harvestman sp. (Ontario)
Allen Chartier

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