{"id":10351,"date":"2021-11-11T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/?p=10351"},"modified":"2021-11-04T12:45:15","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T12:45:15","slug":"long-stemmed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/","title":{"rendered":"LONG-STEMMED"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY\u00a0KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n

Daddy longlegs are the jazz cats of the arachnid world!<\/h4>\n

This realization came to me as I watched a single backlit note bebop across the asphalt path in front of me. A soundtrack of jazz piano greats immediately began to play in my head \u2014 Willie \u201cThe Lion\u201d Smith, Thomas \u201cFats\u201d Waller, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, and Dave Brubeck, to name but a few. Chill dudes whose spider-like fingers strode, slid, bounced, and stomped across the keys.<\/h4>\n

Jazz has evolved and diverged from it\u2019s start in the late 19th century as \u00a0ragtime and Dixieland into a genre so diverse it can be difficult to define, or even to list all the variations: Swing, Cool, West Coast, Modal, Free, Fusion, Funk, Cu-Bop, Post-Bop, etc.<\/h4>\n

The Harvestmen, as Daddy Longlegs are also known (that even sounds like a 1950s jazz band, doesn\u2019t it?) have an even longer and more impressive history. They\u2019re a vast, improvisational set that spans millions of years and many taxonomic octaves, with over 6,500 named species worldwide (experts estimate there may actually be more than 10,000). And while not all the players in this big band have long legs, the ones who hangout in my neighborhood\u2014 Eastern Harvestmen (Leiobunum vittatum<\/em>)\u2014 are\u00a0definitely long-stemmed.<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/h4>\n

These invertebrate daddy-o\u2019s are arachnids but they are NOT spiders; they\u2019re more closely related to mites and scorpions. Harvestmen don\u2019t have a spider\u2019s tiny waist, or venom, or silk (so no webs), and they have only two eyes instead of eight.<\/h4>\n

Jazz musicians need to maintain their instruments to get the best sound; piano hammers need to be voiced, strings tuned, reeds moistened, and valves lubricated. Daddy Longlegs are similarly serious about the tools of their trade, cleaning each leg after a meal by threading them through the pincers by their mouths.<\/h4>\n

Harvestmen are a gregarious lot who periodically congregate in the hundreds or even thousands. Scientists have suggested these spontaneous jam sessions might occur in response to climatic conditions or provide some protection against predators\u2026 but it\u2019s pretty clear they aren\u2019t making music (that can be detected by the human ear, anyway).<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/h4>\n

These members of Order Opiliones are exceptional even among arachnids. They can swallow small pieces of solid food, whereas their cousins are limited to a liquid diet. Conversely, Daddy Longlegs sip oxygen through their legs into a trachea, while other arachnids respire through a gas exchange organ called a book lung.<\/h4>\n

Like jazz, Daddy Longlegs are both familiar and mysterious. Little research has been done on these species\u2026 and who can say why? Maybe they\u2019re a bit too avant-garde to have a large fan base among researchers.<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Or it could be the hours they keep and the dives they frequent. See, Eastern Harvestmen have more in common with jazz pianists than an impressive hand (or leg) span.<\/h4>\n

Sing the pleasures of a warm summer evening spent lounging on a blanket in the grass while listening to a live performance and you\u2019ll hear no argument from me. But to my mind, jazz is an urban art form, and the smokin\u2019 hot licks happen in basement clubs. You know the place. Intimate corners. Low lights. Secluded from street noise. Maybe just a little damp…<\/h4>\n

Now that the kind of gig Daddy Longlegs\u2019 dig.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\u00a9<\/strong> 2017 Next-Door Nature. Reprints welcomed with written permission from the author. Thanks to the following photographers for making their work available through the Creative Commons license:\u00a0 <\/em>Rob Swatski<\/span><\/a>, Leslie Bliss<\/a><\/span>, Rob Swatski<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Luis Fern\u00e1ndez Garcia<\/span><\/a>, and schizoform<\/span><\/a>.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY\u00a0KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Daddy longlegs are the jazz cats of the arachnid world! This realization came to me as I watched a single backlit note bebop across the asphalt path […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10388,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Have you ever listened to the mesmerizing serenade of field crickets (Gryllus<\/em> spp.) on a crisp autumn evening and wondered why they're doing that? I mean, the mercury's definitely headed south, the nights are going to become pretty chill, and those bugs'll be belly-up before too long. Yet they're standing on the stoop warbling impromptu a cappellas. What's up with that?<\/h4>\n

I'll give it to you straight:  crickets or Sinatra, it all comes down to Guys and Dolls<\/em>.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

First, there's An Affair to Remember<\/em>.<\/h4>\n

Ok, several affairs. What can I say? The Lady is a Tramp<\/em>.<\/h4>\n

A few weeks later the she cricket leaves her eggs to be fostered by soil or plant stems, then scurries away to die of exposure shortly thereafter. The guy(s) have long since split but suffer a similar fate.<\/h4>\n

The following spring their orphaned offspring hatch, molt, and become wingless nymphs \u2014  tiny versions of Mom and Pop(s). Summer is spent looking for rations and staying out of trouble, mostly. Then Autumn Leaves<\/em> mean it's time to go underground until things heat up again.<\/h4>\n

The Earth will make it's way half-way around the Sun and then the little ones will emerge again with a song in their hearts.<\/h4>\n

Well... not exactly.<\/h4>\n

Crickets don't really sing. The females are silent, and when males want to croon they don't clear their throats... they rub their wings together, kind of like snapping fingers. Very hip. So maybe it would be more accurate to say their wear their hearts on their sleeves. Except they don't have sleeves. Or arms. Or hearts.<\/h4>\n

Let's just say they do it their way.  I'm sure The Chairman would understand.<\/h4>\n

Speaking of Old Blue Eyes, Frank had plenty of hits and, early in his career, an impressive two-octave range. Male crickets aren't as vocally adept (because, as I just mentioned, they aren't using their voices) and their repertoire is limited to one Nice 'n' Easy<\/em> hit. Usually it's a single note, repeated as many times as necessary.  Crickets don't swing but they do have stamina, plus they mix up the tempo to suite the room (temperature).<\/h4>\n

And Jeepers Creepers<\/em>, there's something about a love song that sets the female heart a-flutter (even if she doesn't have an actual heart), especially In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning<\/em>.<\/h4>\n

Makes no difference whether she's a Sophisticated Lady<\/em> or The Girl Next Door<\/em>. She'll leave home and go Wandering<\/em> in search of a song she just can't resist, and in no time at all she'll be Taking a Chance on Love<\/em>.<\/h4>\n

Apparently, a dreamy tune counts for a lot more than looks because a gal cricket will completely ignore the fact that her suitor's ears are on his front legs.  She's Funny That Way.<\/em><\/h4>\n

Come to think of it, Frankie's ears were rather conspicuous, too, but the bobbysoxers still swooned.<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n\n
\n\n

\u00a9<\/strong> 2016 Next-Door Nature. Reprints welcomed with written permission from the author. Thanks to the following photographers for making their work available through the Creative Commons license: <\/em>public domain, Ken Schneider<\/span><\/a>, Back from the Brink<\/span><\/a>, Jimmy Smith<\/span><\/a>, and Back from the Brink<\/span><\/a>.<\/em><\/h4>\n

.<\/em><\/h4>\n

 <\/em><\/h4>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":0,"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[428,16],"tags":[59,537,18,554,64,91,23,35,555,41,42,43,294,31,12,32,53,14,15,17,57],"class_list":["post-10351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-invertebrates","category-wildlife","tag-animal-behavior","tag-arachnids","tag-backyard-wildlife","tag-daddy-longlegs","tag-ecology","tag-environment","tag-flora-and-fauna","tag-habitat","tag-harvestmen","tag-hidden-nature","tag-hidden-wilderness","tag-hidden-wildlife","tag-invertebrates","tag-natural-history","tag-nature","tag-suburban-wildlife","tag-urban","tag-urban-wildlife","tag-watchable-wildlife","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-watching"],"yoast_head":"\nLONG-STEMMED - Lafayette Park Conservancy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LONG-STEMMED - Lafayette Park Conservancy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BY\u00a0KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Daddy longlegs are the jazz cats of the arachnid world! This realization came to me as I watched a single backlit note bebop across the asphalt path […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lafayette Park Conservancy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-11T08:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-04T12:45:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/long-stemmed.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"608\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"451\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kieran Lindsey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kieran Lindsey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/\",\"name\":\"LONG-STEMMED - Lafayette Park Conservancy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-11T08:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-04T12:45:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/#\/schema\/person\/2cba4be97295c0df84ef191866513038\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"LONG-STEMMED\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/\",\"name\":\"Lafayette Park Conservancy\",\"description\":\"Oldest Urban Park West of the Mississippi\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/#\/schema\/person\/2cba4be97295c0df84ef191866513038\",\"name\":\"Kieran Lindsey\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/709fa3f0f7f4fb352a687ea886ec2d0d9925cea24e7fd75e630a82a339d94fe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/709fa3f0f7f4fb352a687ea886ec2d0d9925cea24e7fd75e630a82a339d94fe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kieran Lindsey\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/author\/kieran-lindsey\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"LONG-STEMMED - Lafayette Park Conservancy","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"LONG-STEMMED - Lafayette Park Conservancy","og_description":"BY\u00a0KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Daddy longlegs are the jazz cats of the arachnid world! This realization came to me as I watched a single backlit note bebop across the asphalt path […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/","og_site_name":"Lafayette Park Conservancy","article_published_time":"2021-11-11T08:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-04T12:45:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":608,"height":451,"url":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/long-stemmed.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kieran Lindsey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kieran Lindsey","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/","url":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/","name":"LONG-STEMMED - Lafayette Park Conservancy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-11-11T08:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-04T12:45:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/#\/schema\/person\/2cba4be97295c0df84ef191866513038"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/long-stemmed\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"LONG-STEMMED"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/","name":"Lafayette Park Conservancy","description":"Oldest Urban Park West of the Mississippi","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/#\/schema\/person\/2cba4be97295c0df84ef191866513038","name":"Kieran Lindsey","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/709fa3f0f7f4fb352a687ea886ec2d0d9925cea24e7fd75e630a82a339d94fe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/709fa3f0f7f4fb352a687ea886ec2d0d9925cea24e7fd75e630a82a339d94fe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kieran Lindsey"},"url":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/author\/kieran-lindsey\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10351"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10396,"href":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10351\/revisions\/10396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}