Harvestman by Chipka
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Description
Harvestmen. I’ve always liked them. I was only moderately disappointed when I first learned that they aren’t members of the daddy-longlegs species. Oh well.
Harvestmen are formerly known as Opiliones, which is just a fancy-schmancy way of saying that they aren’t spiders. As a kid, I’d catch them, and scare the living daylights of my mother. A frightened mother was just a rather amusing side-effect of keeping charming non-human company. Naturally, my mother thought I was an unwell child. My room was, after all, a rather complicated array of enclosed environments, and little work-rooms and star-bases for the zillions of Star Wars action figures I’d collected.
Then, like now, my fondness for small and rather well-armored (or multi-legged) creatures ranged from 14-legged crustacean-variants (woodlice) to spiders, harvestmen, beetles, ants, and more woodlice; I also had salad-dressing and mayo-jars filled with water samples in which lived my pet rotifers, water-fleas, and mosquito larvae. The adults became meals for my insectivores. All of those memories spiraled back as Corey and I were out snapping photographs near Saint Boniface Cemetery. I doubt that anyone even noticed that there was a harvestman on the Cemetery fence-wall, and naturally, I’d spent an inordinate amount of time photographing this gentleman. At least I assume it’s a gentleman…I didn’t get a good look at any hind-quarters in question, and so sex/gender remains in question. At any rate, here is a harvestman, though at the time I took this picture, he wasn’t very busy with the whole harvesting thing. Oh well…at least he posed.
As always, thank you for viewing and reading, and commenting...and hopefully everyone is having a great weekend.
Comments (12)
elfin14doaks
You should have been a scientist. I am glad you not though or I would not get to see your photos. Then again you could always be a scientist and a photographer.
MrsRatbag
Chip, this is cool; I would have thought it a spider. I've never heard of harvestmen, but that's just one more thing in a vast array of things I've never heard of! All I know is he has way more legs than I do!
potrimpo
My sister-in-law hates spiders with a vengeance. She would kill one with a sledge hammer if she could, and if she's on friendly terms with them.
beachzz
Along came a spider, oh, it's NOT a spider??? Poor Miss Muffet, she must be SO confused!!
auntietk
Not a spider? I believe you, because you have FAR more experience with these things than I do. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ... 8 legs) I thought that was the only criteria for spider-dom, but like Denise, there are a whole HOST of things I don't know jack about! Harvestman. Who knew?
romanceworks
Never saw a Harvestman before. Quite an impressive critter. And it gave me a smile how you scared your mom with it. I would jump and scream, too, but fortunately had a nice little sugar and spice girl who only brought me picked wildflowers. And a lost puppy or two. :o) CC
ladyraven23452
Its really cool i would have thought it was a spider but then i was a snake kid and still like them to this day. Cool photo.
anaber
Your "Harvestman" is a portent,My!!I never heard..and you did a prodigious capture as always.
durleybeachbum
I love these creatures too, have a peep at my pic of last July here. they have such a lot of personality! http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1719797
CoreyBlack
Harvestmen? Silly me, I thought that was one of those guys (or gals, but would that be a harvest-person?)who harvest agricultural things with one of those big combine-thingys. And it's not a spider? How do you know all this stuff? After a decade of friendship you still amaze me. If you were a fictional character I would say you were the love child of Sherlock Holmes and Samuel R. Delany, raised by Dr. Gill Grissom and Mr. Spock as your doting nannies. It's also amazing how we were walking together that day and I didn't even see this thing. This is a fantastic shot.
bpclarke
Very cool capture. Excellent work.
elfin12u
"What's that creeping on the wall? Black and hairy, very small. Now he's up above your head, soon be dropping on your head. Boris the harvestman, Boris the harvestman." Just thought I'd try it out, not really sure if the words are in the right order, but I think the song made more sense as "spider". I'm pretty sure it was done by Sly and the family stone, ...and why that is stuck somewhere in my head is beyond me! I wonder if anyone at else is even familiar with it. My uncles always employed harvestmen during the summer and early fall to help with the crops, I had no idea they even looked remotely like this. It's no wonder my Aunts never went out into the fields!!! Ok, in all reality...yeah I can do that too...sometimes. I was under the impression that these guys prefer the damp and shadows, Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if I'm right, you did a great job of getting this one to walk to the light! Cool shot!!!