Harvestman | side view

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

The side view of a harvestman (Opilione), most likely Gagrella sp. Photographed in Matheran. These are Arachnids (close relatives of spiders, scorpions, ticks and mites). There are a few unique features that set Opiliones apart from their relatives:
Unlike most of their relatives, they are not restricted to active predatory habits, they also scavenge and some are even known to consume plant material.
Unlike the apparently similar spiders, they have no venom and silk glands.
These creatures are threatened in many regions by pollution and also by introduced (invasive) species, probably due to their relatively non-aggressive nature and inability to compete.

Canon 500D, 100mm Macro USM
SS 1/200
Av 8.0
ISO 800
Was tough to get a very sharp shot as the light kept changing due to an overcast sky...

Thanks, C&C awaited.

[Atul Sinai]

Well lit and good details. Thanks foe sharing the info. Whats the size of these bugs?

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Atul: The body is usually about 5-9mm long. The legspan could reach 10cm or more in the larger ones.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

An interesting species. How often do we see this? Without the power of photography, it would have been virtually impossible to document this species.

There seems to be a leaf on the right blocking the view. Nice description. What kind of invasive species impacting it?

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Mrudul Godbole]

Nice to see a new species. The details and the composition looks nice. What is the horn(?) like structure on the back? Thanks for sharing the detailed information.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Mrudul: The horn is a protective spine, on a thickened part of the back called a scute. (you could say somewhat similar to the scutes in crocodiles and turtles)
Sabyasachi: Not sure about the invasives in my region, in fact I don't think they are threatened here. Have been seeing them in more or less similar abundance for years. The statement about their status was based on studies all over the world. The species affecting them could be any animals that have similar feeding habits (mainly scavenging) and reproduce more rapidly than harvestmen. As you may be well aware, there are countless invasive animals that would fit this description.
The fact that they have very primitive body plans (unchanged since 400 million years ago) and slow life cycles (up to 1 year) means they are slow to adapt, and hence more affected by pollution, invasives etc. In contrast, a bug for example, due to its rapidly completing life cycle, would easily adapt in a matter of months.
Harvestmen are quite common during the monsoon, and can be found resting stationary on leaves and on walls. They do show preference for certain plants, need to confirm their ID. One can find even 15-20 of them on a small host plant.

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice info shared here Abhishek. do you have any shots where the legs are completely visable? wonder why they are called Harvestman...

TFS
Roopak

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Roopak: I thought I had shared a legs-included image some time back, but browsing through my previous posts it looks like I had forgotten. Will search for and post it.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Sharing a record image of a harvestman with the legs (partly) included. Not sure if I have one with the legs in entirely, but I think this should give a general idea.