Painted harvestman

Description

Painted harvestman is a common, easily recognized harvestman. It occurs in the United States from Maine to northern Georgia, west to Minnesota and Alabama.

Adults are active from June through October. They are found in forests on tree trunks, on bark or beneath loose bark, on rocks, boulders, and other vertical surfaces, and they are often found in leaf litter.

Males are about 3⁄16″ (5 mm) in length. The body is soft, compact, oval, and brown.

There are two simple eyes and no compound eyes. The eyes are mounted on a small, rounded protuberance (ocular tubercle). There are three long, forward-projecting spines at the middle of the front margin of the carapace, in front of the ocular tubercle. There are also large spine-like projections on the ocular tubercle.

The abdomen is tapered in the rear to a narrowly rounded tip. There is a large, distinct, dark, central figure bordered by lighter areas extending from the eye area on the carapace to the end of the abdomen.

The legs are banded, slender, and long, but relatively short for a harvestman. The second pair of legs is the longest. Each leg consists of a coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus and claw. There are large, spine-like projections on the coxae and trochanters.

Females are larger, about ¼″ (6 mm) in length. The abdomen is broadly rounded in the rear. The central figure on the abdomen is lighter and sometimes indistinct.

Size

Female Body Length: about ¼″ (6 mm)

Male Body Length: about 3⁄16″ (5 mm)

Legspan: variable

Similar Species

The three spines at the middle of the front margin of the carapace, along with the relatively short legs, distinguish painted harvestman from all other harvestmen in Minnesota.

Habitat

Forests

Ecology

Season

June through October

Behavior

They move slowly compared to other harvestmen.

Life Cycle

Food