A TERRIFYING image shows the moment a “horrendously huge” daddy longlegs infiltrated a woman’s home.
Unlucky software technician Alina spotted the massive insect this morning whilst she was grabbing herself a drink from the kitchen.
The 25-year-old estimated the creature to be about seven inches in diameter – a far cry from the usual three or four inch variations of the insects that Brits are used to.
Alina, from Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the beastie lying dormant next to her living room door frame.
The image shows the daddy longlegs – also known as a harvestman – sat by the door frame, with its legs spread dominantly over the wall.
The creature has a small, round brownish body, which in itself is nothing spectacular, but its long, spindly legs are the real talking point.
The eight appendices vary in length, with two in particular spread further than the rest, covering a worrying portion of the wall.
Alina uploaded the image to social media today, alongside the caption “WHAT is this?!”
The post has gained significant attention, attracting over 9,500 likes and 1,500 comments so far, with users in disbelief at the insect’s beastly proportions.
@forrestgatte said: “Daddy very very long legs”
@SquireBev joked: “My nan had a clock that looked like that.”
@Firebrand777 commented: “You are absolutely kidding me. That’s horrific!”
@Electrical_Fruit2902: added: “Its a daddy longlegs on steroids”
The creature was identified by a user as a Dicranopalpus Ramosus, a species of Opiliones, commonly known as harvestmen or daddy long legs.
It has since been captured by Alina’s partner Connor and released into the wild, but Alina still has an itchy feeling under her skin.
She spoke today, saying: “I went into the kitchen to get a drink, was watching the birds out of the window and then turned around and suddenly noticed it.
“I don’t know how long it had been there or where it came from, but it scared the life out of me and made me feel very itchy! It must’ve been about 7 inches long!
“I froze and called my partner’s name – I didn’t want to get too close to it in case it moved!
“We live in a fairly rural area next to quite a lot of fields so we get a lot of spiders and crawly things but I’d never seen anything like this before.
“I’m glad to read they’re harmless but I certainly don’t want to see one in my house again!”
The Opiliones are an order of arachnids, which English speakers tend to refer to as “daddy longlegs” or “harvestmen”.
However, this name is also used for two other distantly related groups of arthropods – crane flies, and cellar spiders, most likely because of their similar appearance.
An urban legend claims that the harvestman is the most venomous animal in the world, but possesses fangs too short or small to bite a human, rendering it harmless.
However, this is untrue as none of the known species of harvestmen has venom glands; their mouthparts are not hollowed fangs but grasping claws that are typically very small and not strong enough to break human skin.
Therefore, Harvestmen pose absolutely no danger to humans.
