Facts about pholcids

You may not know their name, but you’ve probably seen these tiny-bodied, long-legged insects indoors, says Val

- Val Bourne

IN my early 20s I rented a ground-floor flat next to a fruit warehouse and, when the cold nights came, I had some unexpected visitors. Large hairy spiders would scurry across the floor, so my mantelpiece contained a collection of upside-down jam jars and postcards. I became adept at catching and evicting the spiders in my two-year stay, although they probably crept back in. If they lost a leg or two it didn’t matter, because spiders can grow new legs.

I rarely see a large house spider inside Spring Cottage, because I have pholcids. These long-legged trapeze artists travel overhead and you could mistake them for daddy long-legs at a quick glance, although they don’t fly.

Pholcids aren’t spiders. They’re related to mites and scorpions, and they enjoy the warmth of a home because they’re subtropical creatures. They were first recorded in southern Britain in 1864, but they’re now found as far north as Shetland