Pholcus phalangoides, the spider that ate the world

While visiting Andrew Gray at the Manchester Museum recently, the conversation turned to Pholcus phalangoides, the "Daddy Longlegs" or "Skull" spider, a common co-occupant of frogrooms these days.

Originally a tropical species, P. phalangoides has been distributed around the world. It suddenly appeared in many UK frogrooms some years ago. The myth is that is was spread by cricket breeders, but since I don't "do" crickets, there must be other ways it hops from one location to another. It feeds on a wide range of insects, including other, much larger spiders such as house spiders, which it has eliminated from my frogroom. The myth that it is harmful to humans was apparently examined (and disproved) on Mythbusters, but I don't trust this species with small frogs and make strenuous efforts to remove it from all my vivaria.