Summary
A daddy longlegs isn't a spider, and when a predator grabs a leg, it can pop that leg off and walk away. Deep Look shows how those long legs sense the world -- and how losing one can save the animal's life.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
A daddy longlegs can drop a leg to escape a grab, and the leg keeps twitching to distract the predator. It also 'tastes' and feels its world through those legs. Losing one costs the animal, but staying alive is worth more.
- What does a daddy longlegs do when a predator grabs its leg?
- How can losing a leg actually help the animal survive?
- Besides walking, what else do the long legs help it do?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: autotomy, survive, sense, structure.
Try it: Wiggle just one finger while holding still. Write how a dropped, twitching leg tricks a predator while the daddy longlegs escapes.