Eastern Harvestman
Eastern Harvestman
Leiobunum vittatum
Arachnida
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Annual
Size
Small
Diet
Omnivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Social
Solitary
Biome
Temperate forest
Range
North America
Movement
Walking
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Toxins
Status
Common

About

This long-legged arachnid lives in moist forests across North America. It can voluntarily detach a leg to escape predators, which continues to twitch for minutes.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg sac
    A silk-wrapped egg sac shelters a clutch of eggs until the young are ready to emerge.
  2. 2.
    juvenile
    A spiderling emerges from the egg sac already in miniature adult form and starts catching prey almost immediately.
  3. 3.
    subadult
    A near-adult arachnid molts through several instars, growing larger and developing mature markings.
  4. 4.
    adult
    Fully grown after its final molt.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Arachnida
Order
Opiliones
Family
Sclerosomatidae
Genus
Leiobunum
Species
Leiobunum vittatum