A daddy long legs is neither a spider nor is it venomous.

A common claim is that a daddy long-legs is the most venomous spider, but that it’s fangs can’t pierce human skin. While this idea is naturally sticky and delightfully ironic, it has no basis in reality whatsoever. A true daddy-long-legs is actually not a spider at all! Unlike other arachnids, which have 2 body segments, a daddy-long-legs just has 1. They not only have no venom, they also have no fangs. They have a tough time killing anything, let alone a human being. They usually feed off of dead plant and animal matter.

This confusion might be the result of the fact that there is also an actual spider called the daddy-longlegs spider. This spider does have fangs. Scientists have no idea whether or not the spider has deadly venom, because they can’t intentionally inject a human being with spider venom if they don’t know it’s safe. However, there’s no reason why their fangs wouldn’t be able to pierce human skin. They have similar fangs as the deadly brown recluse spider.

Learn more about the the daddy-longlegs.