Spring at last After a few false starts it feels like spring is finally underway. Days ago, a walk in the woods with my dogs produced a tick. I’ve said before I do not like ticks but as a community service I try to give a heads up when I see them about. I also […]
crane flies
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Going into the Light (Fixture)
In an effort to make one of those yucky housecleaning tasks a tad more interesting, I decided to check out the dead bugs in my kitchen light fixture before feeding them to my goldfish. In the past I’ve found millipedes and, once upon a time, even a potato bug (Jerusalem cricket). How that got up […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: A Sparse Week
Looking for something to write about this week, I remembered back in June I posted a photo of a robber fly cannibalizing another one. When it was done, it flew away leaving the dead victim’s carcass in the weeds, so I collected and mounted it. Surprisingly, it fell apart, the back half of it disintegrating […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: A Dead Crane Fly and a Strange Nursery
I grew up calling them “mosquito catchers.” Other folks know them as daddy longlegs (a name also used for Opiliones,a type of arachnid) or mosquito hawks. More properly they are known as crane flies, or family tipulidae of the order diptera — true flies. Resembling giant mosquitos, they inspire fear in some people. But unlike […]