I spotted this "daddy longlegs" this weekend, and switched my camera to its macro setting for this photo (click the photo for a much expanded and detailed version):
I looked it up today on Wikipedia and found out, to my surprise, that this animal is not technically a spider (even though it is an arachnid). Rather than a "spider" daddy longlegs are "harvestmen," belonging to the order Opiliones (spiders belong to the order "aranea."
This is another in a series of posts by a few of us who enjoy photographing critters we find in our houses and yards. This shaggy little guy (he was about 3/8" long) was posing on a screen on my back porch. I don't claim to know enough about spiders to tell you anything about him (Click on the photo for more detail):
Dan Klarmann's photos of the cricket in his basement inspired me to grab my camera when I spied a tiny spider in my basement (it was about 4mm in diameter). My daughter held a flashlight on him/her while I brought my camera within an inch of my subject. I finally…