Watch as hundreds of daddy longlegs engulf tent in Alaska. ‘Nope, nope, and nope!!!’
A backpacker wasn’t dreaming when they woke up to hundreds of crawling creatures engulfing their tent in an Alaska national park.
They turned on their flashlight and saw daddy longlegs covering the tent, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve said in an Oct. 31 Facebook post.
“The tired explorer nods off to dreamland … suddenly they are jolted awake with the sense of being covered by creepy crawly creatures of the forest, only to discover their nightmare has become a reality,” the park said in the post.
A video shows the tired backpacker realizing their tent is engulfed with the long-legged critters.
They move their flashlight, illuminating one part of the tent to another, showing hundreds of daddy longlegs. It’s not clear if they are inside or on the outside.
“One of my worst nightmares. Would never sleep again,” one person commented on Facebook.
“Nope, nope, and nope!!!” another person wrote.
Lake Clark National Park & Preserve is in southern Alaska. The remote park is in the wilderness and, with no roads, can only be reached by boat or plane.
Park officials advised backpackers to be self-sufficient while traversing the challenging and unpredictable terrain.
What are daddy longlegs?
Daddy longlegs, also called harvestmen, belong to the Arachnida family and are related to spiders and scorpions. They have long, thin legs and small bodies.
However, these creatures are not spiders themselves, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Their bodies have one segment, unlike spiders that have two separated body segments that include a head and an abdomen, officials said.
Daddy longlegs also have two eyes, and they lack silk and venom glands. Because of this, they are often found under rocks and logs — not in webs, according to The University of California, Riverside.
This critter might be mistaken as a cellular spider, which has a smaller body, eight eyes and can weave webs.
This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Watch as hundreds of daddy longlegs engulf tent in Alaska. ‘Nope, nope, and nope!!!’."
