Drop In Daddy Long Legs Is Devastating Bird Populations

[amyrose2712]

ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2009) — Warm summers are dramatically reducing populations of daddy long legs, which in turn is having a severe impact on the bird populations which rely on them for food.

(snip)

Higher temperatures in late summer are killing the cranefly larvae, resulting in a drop of up to 95 per cent in the number of adult craneflies emerging the following spring. With these craneflies providing a crucial food source for a wide range of upland birds like the golden plover, this means starvation and death for many chicks.

“The population of Golden Plovers in our study will likely be extinct in around 100 years if temperature predictions are correct and the birds cannot adapt to feed on other prey sources,” explains Newcastle University’s Dr Mark Whittingham, who worked on the study with scientists from RSPB Scotland and Aberystwyth and Manchester universities.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090326092356.htm

[Ian David]

1. So THAT is what those creepy-ass daddy longlegs spiders are good for. n/t

[MineralMan]

2. Danged Englishmen can't even speak English.

Daddy Longlegs are spiders, dadburn it. They're sometimes called Harvestmen. Those crane flies are called "Giant Mosquitos" or, in the case of some in California, "What the hell is this bug?"

[amyrose2712]

3. Yeah I just re-read that and got confused.

So, its not those "peas with legs"

[MineralMan]

8. Nope. I'm very fond of harvestmen, actually.

They're harmless, but interesting to watch.

[lazer47]

4. See correct below,,,, not spiders

Daddy-long-legs, also known as harvestmen, are very commonly confused with spiders due to their general appearance and eight legs. However, these tan to brown creatures belong to the order Opiliones and are not spiders, all of which belong to the order Araneae (see HYG-2060, “Spiders In and Around the House,” http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2060.html). Although they are close relatives of spiders, daddy-long-legs do not bite humans, and they are not poisonous (they lack venom glands). They do not construct webs.

[amyrose2712]

5. But this is a crane fly...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crane_fly


It is not a daddy long-leg either according to this.

[amyrose2712]

6. Wiki says they are in the spider family...

...and that crane flies and harvest men are also called daddy long-legs. Confusion clear.

[MineralMan]

7. Yes, you are correct, of course. However, launching into

that explanation would have ruined my little jab at Britishers, wouldn't it? You are, sir or madam, a spoilsport! :evilgrin:

[amyrose2712]

10. I prefer Miss. Madam makes me sound like I trade women.

:silly:

[Tim01]

9. I guess I better fill my birdfeeders.nt

[Yunomi]

11. Crane flies

I just learned what these are recently, due to my partners' interest in ento... entro... bugs. In East Texas, where I was a child, they are called gollywhompers. Also, I wonder about the 'harmlessness' of daddy long legs. I saw a bunch eating a dead frog one night, and hadn't yet gotten into mind altering substances. Anyway, I've seen a lot fewer crane flies here in Central Texas this year, and am assuming it's due to the drought.