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Not just the UK, there are parts of the southern US that refer to Crane Flies as DLLs (also "mosquito hawks" even though they don't prey on mosquitos). You als
by nervousvarun 3y ago
Not just the UK, there are parts of the southern US that refer to Crane Flies as DLLs (also "mosquito hawks" even though they don't prey on mosquitos). You also sometimes hear "Grand Daddy Longlegs".
I can vouch for New Orleans at least as they are everywhere right now (there was a discussion on r/NewOrleans just a few days back about this very topic). One thing I learned in that discussion is the same person might call both of them DLLs. That seems impossibly illogical to me but it apparently happens.
- wkat4242 3y agoSo basically you're living in DLL hell ;)
- jandrese 3y agoTake your upvote and get out of here.
- woleium 3y agosigh.. this is HN, not reddit. I come here so i dont have to navigate this noise between signals
- FPGAhacker 3y agoAnd yet, you create more noise.
- Jerrrry 3y ago"If we are supposed to be quiet, when why are you talking?" RIP /., RIP r/prog, RIP HN we need a "you must be this substantive to ride the ride" gate-keeper because shame isnt a good enough moderator anymore.
- woleium 3y agowe just need the next place, so the cycle can continue. it is far easier to ride the waves than to fight the ocean.
- adolph 3y agoBumper crop of mosquito hawks in Houston too. Maybe it was the mild winter?
- jrgoff 3y agoJust to add to the common name list - I grew up in Alaska and we called the crane flies "mosquito eaters" there.
- OkayPhysicist 3y agoDefinitely learned the name "'skeeter eater" growing up, but I'm not sure whether that was a Virginian regionalism or my dad's eccentricity.
- dynisor 3y agoWere also called mosquito hawks or mosquito eaters in Southern California. Looking back, grandparents were actually from Oklahoma, so I now have no idea if it was regional or just us. Daddy Long Legs are Cellar Spiders here though. For sure.
- xp84 3y agoCalifornia raised, but my father who taught me the name mosquito eater was Southern. I don’t want to hear any evidence that it’s not completely factual. In my worldview it’s real.
- pvaldes 3y agoCrane flies are vegetarian and harmless for animals. Robber flies are specialized predators of other flies, so: mosquito eaters. Different evolutionary lines. We could say that crane flies are like insect equivalent of cranes and robber flies are like hawks. In fact they are called hawk flies also.
- bitwize 3y agoMy cat has been catching and eating craneflies. He's been enjoying the glut of flying snacks!