Has anyone seen a daddy-long-legs lately?

[Anonymouse]

This post is not to say 'oh, I miss them'. In fact I hated the damn things. I really hated that scritch scritch sound you'd hear from ceilings or windows as they blundered around as the lousy fliers they were. They always seemed so pointless to me - all leg and wing, hardly seemed worth a predator's time (though clearly there must be something that bothers to eat them - spiders, maybe).

But it occurred to me tonight that I haven't seen one in years. Spiders, yes, mostly Tenegaria or harvestmen (the ones with spindly legs). The occasional moth (Tigger, bless her, used to like them...as a toy/snack, that is!).

But no daddy-long-legs.

Not that I want them back, but I'm curious: are they extinct, or just scarce these days? Do they have a years-long breeding cycle, like cicadas, so every few years they mostly vanish until BAM and we're suddenly overrun with them?

Yep, we had them around here in late summer.