The discovery of two species of the daddy-longlegs insect family in Edgewood County Park may block a proposed 18-hole golf course. Both species are called the Edgewood Park harvestman, of Sitalcina minor. They live only in serpentine rock formations in the park's hills, and several conservationists want the habitate to be preserved. ``Constructing a golf course would wipe out the whole harvestmen populations,'' said Thomas F. Briggs, a science teacher at San Francisco Lowell High School. ``These are about the smallest daddy longlegs in the world,'' he added. Briggs discovered one of the species in 1983 and the other in 1985. Both have eight legs, and bright orange-red bodies that measure about 1 millimeter. Unlike spiders, daddy-longlegs do not spin webs. Along with Darrell Ubick, an entomologist, Briggs has submitted a proposal to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking that the species discovered in 1983 be declared a federally protected creature, which could halt any development of their only known habitat. San Mateo County purchased the 468-acre site in 1980 from the state and has been attempting to build a golf course there for several years. ``This little spider is just another ploy to keep from having a golf course,'' said Barbara Kootz of nearby San Carlos, a golfer and leader of pro-development interests in the area.
