220 DIVERSIONS OF A NATURALIST 



and has a globular body and eight very long legs easily 

 broken off is also commonly called a " daddy-long- 

 legs." It has no wings, and is allied to the spiders, 

 though it is not a true spider having a minute pair of 

 nippers near its mouth, instead of the pair of stabbing 

 claws which spiders have. It is frequently called a 

 " harvester," a name loosely applied to other small 

 creatures. It is known to zoologists as Opilio. 



Our crane-flies, or daddy-long-legs, when they swarm 

 about the grass are intent on two objects. They do not 

 require food ; they have had enough^ when they were 

 grubs concealed in the soil. They are now busy, first, 

 in pairing, so that the females' eggs may be fertilized ; 

 and, secondly, the females are about to choose a likely 

 piece of ground in which to bore with their pointed tails 

 and lay their eggs. They prefer rather damp spots, 

 shaded from the fierce drying heat of the sun, for this 

 purpose. When laying her eggs, the female balances 

 herself with her legs in an upright position, and, pushing 

 the sharp tail into the earth, moves round by the aid of 

 her legs, to the right and to the left, so as to bore a 

 quarter of an inch or so into the loose soil. Then she 

 lays two or three eggs, and, coming down from her 

 upright pose, moves on through the blades of grass for 

 3 or 4 inches, and again takes an upright attitude, 

 and repeats the boring and egg-laying. The eggs are 

 very small, black, shining grains, of which as many as 

 300 are found in the body of one ripe female. The 

 male crane-fly has a broad, somewhat expanded end to 

 its body, by which it is easily distinguished from the 

 female. 



From the eggs minute maggots or grubs hatch and 

 feed upon animal and vegetable refuse in the soil, but as 



