Daddy Long Legs

Been a busy weekend socialising with our 6 visitors, including 2 very young children, and also being out on Saturday night. Together with the weather being grey and overcast I was glad I no longer felt committed to blipping every day.

With the weather remaining the same today, I wasn't particularly motivated to blip until I saw the Daddy Long Legs on the outside of the kitchen window. There are a lot about just now, although I am not sure whether they have laid their eggs or not. What I do know is they are the larval stage of the Leatherjacket, which in large numbers can cause devastation to a lawn. I also know from out farmer friend that they can seriously damage a field of grass if their numbers get out of hand. Apparently, with last Winter being particularly mild, the larvae wouldn't have been exposed to severe fronts, which would have killed many of them.

I must confess I have always found them a bit creepy as they seem to have a habit of flying into you. However, when I went LARGE on this one I was amazed to see the detail of its eyes, which looked like the ends of a fibre optics cable. Maybe there is some beauty in this creepy big bug after all!!