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Phalangium opilio facts for kids

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Phalangium opilio
Phalangium opilio MHNT Male.jpg
Male Phalangium opilio
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Arachnida
Order:
Opiliones
Family:
Phalangiidae
Genus:
Phalangium
Species:
P. opilio
Binomial name
Phalangium opilio

Phalangium opilio is a very common type of harvestman. It is found all over the world. This creature originally lived in Europe and much of Asia. Now, it has also spread to North America, North Africa, and New Zealand.

You can find Phalangium opilio in many different places. These include meadows, forests, and even places built by people. They live in gardens, farm fields, and along hedgerows. You might also spot them on lawns, in quarries, or on walls and bridges. Phalangium opilio helps farmers by eating the eggs of pests like the corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea). This makes them a natural way to control pests. Like most harvestmen, this species is active at night, which means it is nocturnal.

What Does Phalangium opilio Look Like?

Female Phalangium opilio are usually between 6 and 9 millimeters (about 0.2 to 0.35 inches) long. Males are a bit smaller, measuring 4 to 7 millimeters (about 0.15 to 0.27 inches). However, male harvestmen have much longer legs. The second leg of a male can be about 54 millimeters (about 2.1 inches) long. For females, this leg is usually around 38 millimeters (about 1.5 inches).

Both males and females have similar colors and patterns. Their bodies often have a dark, three-lobed shape that looks like a saddle. This saddle usually has small spots or lines down the middle. It can be tricky to tell Phalangium opilio apart from a similar species called Mitopus morio. But P. opilio has two small, pale, tooth-like bumps called "denticles." These are found just below the front edge of its head shield, known as the carapace. Male Phalangium opilio are special because they have long, forward-pointing "horns" on the second part of their mouthparts, called chelicerae.

  • Phalangium opilio MHNT Face

    Female

  • Phalangium opilio bl

    Male with Trombidium sp.'; note the "horns" on the chelicerae

  • Phalangium opilio MHNT Profil

    Female side view

  • Phalangium opilio with parasitic Mite larvae 20060729 bottom

    Female bottom with a Trombidiformes mite

  • Phalangium opilio MHNT portrait female

    Female

Images for kids

  • Phalangiidae - Phalangium opilio (male)

    Male showing the "horns" on the chelicerae

  • Phalangiidae - Phalangium opilio (male)-001

    Male side view

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