Litinsects

Harvestman (aka daddy longlegs) Mite Spider   Litinsects #38: Arachnids Today we are taking a little excursion outside the world of insects into a neighboring class of arthropods, the ARACHNIDS. Most people think spiders when they hear arachnids but the group includes so much more than that! In addition to spiders , the arachnids consist of mites and ticks, scorpions , pseudoscorpions, tailless whip scorpions, and harvestmen (aka daddy longlegs which are NOT actually spiders!). The closest relatives of arachnids are horseshoe crabs Like insects (and all other arthropods), arachnids have jointed appendages and a hard exoskeleton and grow by molting Arachnids have neither wings nor antennae. They possess only simple and no compound eyes Unlike insects, which have 3 body segments (head, thorax, and abdomen) arachnids generally have two body sections, the PROSOMA, aka head, and the OPISTHOSOMA, aka abdomen (but the two may be fused into one in some groups) Arachnids are easily recogniz...