daddy long legs and other assorted pesky things

[b13thy]

I am under the impression that DLL (crane flies) only live a short time over the summer and then they die. How then if the population dies every year, do they keep coming back year after year? do some of them hibernate?

[Tim Baxter]

Perhaps they lay eggs.  They do not eat. They do not hibernate.  Perhaps they migrate South for the winter.  Perhaps God scoops them up in his tender hands and cares for them until it's time to release them again next summer.  Who knows?

[deeselsbride]

Crane flies (Tipula spp.) gererally lay eggs which hatch and grow into larvae. It is the larvae that overwinter in the soil and emerge when it gets warmer.

[liquoricemad]

...they're called Leatherjackets before they emerge as Crane Flies, and that's what Starlings are going after when you see a flock of them on grass.

[andyjevs]

DLL lay eggs in the soil which then hatch into grubs or larvae called leatherjackets. They look like hairless catterpillers and are about 1" long. You will usually find them in turf where they sit and eat the grass roots....a real nightmare for gardeners. They usually hatch in late summer...hence the sudden influx of DLL and the adults mate and then die off.

[Supernick]

I used to call Harvestmen (http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/harvestman.htm) 

Daddy-long legs, and have always called craneflies, craneflies. Am I wrong, or is DLL used for both species