if crane flies had an autumn weather wish list, then the past week would tick all the boxes. Warm, dry days followed by warm, dry nights. It’s their egg-laying time, and each tussock of yellowing grass plays host to a female crane fly producing the next generation. The eggs, laid in the soil, will hatch within a fortnight. The emerging larvae, known as “leather jackets”, will lie in the earth for nearly a year. Vulnerable to flooding, the beaks of starlings, the noses of moles and the snouts of badgers, few larvae will make it to their brief, autumnal flying period. It’s during these few weeks that we’re most likely to meet them. Reading in bed with a window open is a sure way of inviting one in. They’re irresistibly drawn by light. Once inside your roo