So we find that the loss of its legs by the "daddy" is a means of safety to it, and is a similar provision to that seen in some other animals. It seems improbable that the "old father long-legs" who "would not say his prayers" (according to an ancient nursery rhyme), is a myth referring to a daddy-long-legs of the insect kind, since the recommendation to "take him by his left leg and throw him downstairs" would have been futile; his left leg would have come off as soon as seized, and have greatly embarrassed the individual intending to throw him downstairs! Another kind of insect-like animal, which occurs commonly in cobwebby outhouses, 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 egglaying. 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.