Harvestmen
What are they?
Harvestmen are arachnids, making them distantly related to spiders, but they sit in a different order of invertebrates and, but for their long, spider-like legs, they more closely resemble ticks. Unlike spiders they have a fused carapace which contains the whole head and body in a single structure. These creatures can often be abundant in fields and woodland, especially around 'harvest time', hence their English name. They are rather generalist feeders, preying on smaller invertebrates, but also eating plant material and scavenging detritus. Contrary to urban myth, these creatures are not highly venemous, or indeed harmful to us in any way. Harvestmen are sometimes called 'daddy-long-legs', a name also used for flies in the family Tipulidae, as well as for some spindly-legged spiders - a source of much confusion and misunderstanding among the less well informed.
Identification
Harvestmen can be very difficult to identify to species with differences often being very subtle and hard to spot. Overall body color, leg markings and size can all be useful to note down.
Leiobunum verrucosum
The Leiobunum species tend to be a rusty brown in color with darker legs. They are common inhabitants of wooded areas and can easily be found wandering the forest floor.
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