Attack of the Beastly Thing!

This is a Crane Fly. I found it in the barbeque shelter, and moved it to the picnic table, where the light was better.

They are clumsy fliers, which was demonstrated when this one flew away when I tried to de-tangle it's extremely long legs.


This, from T.E.R.R.A.I.N website:
The New Zealand flies range up to 30 mm in body length that of the NZ native the Giant Crane Fly (Austrotipula hudsoni). In appearance crane flies seem long and gangly, with very long legs, and a long slender abdomen. The wings are often held out when at rest, unlike most flies, crane flies are weak and poor fliers with a tendency to "wobble" in unpredictable patterns during flight.
Despite their common names, crane flies do not prey on mosquitoes as adults, nor do they bite humans. Adult crane flies feed on nectar or they do not feed at all; once they become adults, most crane fly species live only to mate and die. Adults feed on nectar. Their larvae live in rotting plants and in the soil. They do not bite humans.