Citizen scientists reveal evolutionary origins of paternal care in harvestmen

Citizen scientists have enabled researchers to resolve a long‑standing question about the evolution of parental care in harvestmen, a group of arachnids commonly known as daddy‑long‑legs. By analyzing photographs and field observations contributed to the iNaturalist platform, the team more than doubled the documented instances of egg‑guarding behavior and identified distinct evolutionary trajectories for maternal and paternal care.

The rapid, data‑driven study, completed within days, demonstrates how publicly sourced biodiversity records can accelerate scientific discovery. The findings reveal that maternal and paternal care have developed independently in harvestmen, offering new insight into the mechanisms driving parental investment across species. This work underscores the growing impact of citizen‑science contributions on global biological research.