Bug-a-day #24 (He ain’t pretty!) – Crane fly

I went down to the local country park/reservoir today with storm clouds a-brewing and a frigid blustery wind.

I didn’t realise how cold and blowy it really was until I stood on the water’s edge and watched the gulls flying backwards. (If you’ve ever seen it, you’ll know what I mean).  So I held out little hope of finding any critters that would also be daft enough to be out in the elements with me. But as it turned out, with a little bit of rock-turning and ingenuity, I found one or two – including this Crane Fly or, as we British fondly refer to it, the Daddy Long Legs (not to be confused with the spider with the same nickname).

When I was a child, we’d often get these in our house. They would whirr around the room in the most ungainly fashion and bump into everything and anything. Even back then, I’d sometimes wonder what the point of this clumsy creature was. And then today, I got up close and personal with the macro lens, and, by gum! It’s not the prettiest thing to gaze upon!  I’ve added a couple of closer close-ups for you to see what I mean.

But they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder …. and somewhere out there is a Mummy Long Legs who loves him just the way he is 🙂

© Alice through the Macro Lens [2012]