Daddy Longlegs

For a long time Yaxlich has wondered what the point of daddy longlegs was. Outside of flying into lightbulbs and giving Yaxlich the creeps, they don't appear to do much else. Today the BBC News website has answered the question and Yaxlich is relieved to find out that they actually have a purpose. The article is called What's the point of daddy longlegs? which he thinks is an excellent title. It tells you exactly what to expect. Anyway, it would appear that the sole purpose of daddy longlegs is to be a food source for other creatures. That must be a bit of a bummer. There you are, a young larvae burrowing your way into the earth to get at some tasty grass roots, munching on an old leaf and hanging out with your larvae friends. Nobody ever mentions the fact that you're an orphan because everyone else is an orphan. No one ever stops to question why, it's just what being a larvae is all about. It somehow creates a sense of unity. You're all part of one big orphan gang wearing your leather jackets. Conversation turns to what you're going to be when you grow up. Rumour has it that after you reach pupaety you turn into a daddy longlegs. They sound really cool! They sound like the superhero of the insect world. Who's your daddy (longlegs)? Boy larvae meets girl larvae and everything is rosy in the garden until one day you bump into a beetle. His name is Ringo. You tell him your plans for the future and that one day you're going to be a daddy longlegs. He laughs at you and tells you that you're only going to live for two weeks and the sole reason you're on the planet is to be eaten by spiders and birds. All of your hopes and dreams have been shattered in an instant. You'd planned to marry this girl larvae, have baby larvae and stay together for all eterntity. You didn't want your baby larvae to grow up without a mother and father like you did. You wanted to take your baby larvae down to the park and play football. You wanted to watch them grow up and now this is never going to happen. You are distraught. Small larvae sized tears well up in your eyes. "One other thing", Ringo says as he saunters off to do whatever it is that beetles do, "although you only live for two weeks, your purpose is to mate as much as you can before you snuff it". Oh well, maybe it's not so bad being a daddy longlegs.