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Sticker of Eastern harvestman
Bug card No. 0437 of 1,500

Eastern harvestman

Leiobunum vittatum
Eats: A bit of everythingScorpions, ticks and friendsGardens and meadows8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The eastern harvestman has a tiny oval body and eight super long, thin legs. It looks a bit like a spider, but it is not one. It has a dark stripe down the middle of its back.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. It is an arachnid with eight legs, a cousin of the spiders.
Lives in
Eastern and central North America, in gardens, fields and woods
Length
5 to 8.5 mm (0.2 to 0.33 in)
Top speed
about 1.2 km/h (0.75 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It has no venom and cannot hurt you. If it is scared, it makes a smelly liquid to keep enemies away.
What does it eat?
Harvestmen eat small insects and also nibble on bits of dead plants and animals.
For real!Photo of Eastern harvestman
Picture by Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Eastern harvestman about 8.5 mm long (0.33 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
small enough to sit on your fingernailcould run across a dinner table in 3 secondsmoves 39 times its own body length every second

How big is Eastern harvestman compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its body is only about the size of a grain of rice, but its legs are many times longer.

2

It has special scent glands. When it is in danger, it lets out a smelly liquid to scare off attackers.

3

Scientists filmed it running with super fast cameras to learn how its long legs work.

4

The females are a bit bigger and rounder than the males.

you asked

Most asked questions about Eastern harvestman

?Is the eastern harvestman a spider?

No. It has eight legs like a spider, but its body is one round piece and it does not make webs.

?Is the eastern harvestman dangerous?

No. It has no venom and cannot hurt people.

?How big is the eastern harvestman?

Its body is only about 5 to 8 mm long, but its legs are much longer.

Myth buster

Myth: Daddy longlegs like the harvestman are the most venomous animals, but their fangs are too small to bite people.

Truth: Not true. Harvestmen have no venom at all. They are completely harmless to people.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Leiobunum vittatum
Named by
Say, 1821
Group
Scorpions, ticks and friends
Family
Sclerosomatidae
Classification
Arachnida > Opiliones > Sclerosomatidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Leiobunum vittatum (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

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