Why?

Like many of you, I assume, I find huge, gangly crane flies in the house from time-to-time. They're so easy to catch and there was a time (I'm sorry to say) when I swatted them down and discarded them.  Once I found out they were harmless, I began to marvel at their size and structure.  Much to the dismay of the more squeamish members of the family, I'm now very careful to catch them gently in cupped hands and set them free outside.

So I read-up on our long-legged insect friends and found that, as larvae, most species are believed to be beneficial contributors to the organic quality of the soil.  The adults sometimes live only for a week or two--just enough time to mate.  In fact, their life on the wing can be as brief as two days, during which time they don't eat.  And other than the occasional unwanted entry into human houses, they are completely harmless.  That coupled with their extremely short adulthood made me more eager to safely return them from my doorway to the summer sun outside.

Which brings me my title question.  I don't have an answer for it, but it has me thinking deeply about the reason any of us (all living creatures) are where we are and why we even exist at all.  In fact, given what I learned while reading last night, I'm even more perplexed and determined to discover the answer.  Of all the seeming miracles of life we witness every day, this is but one.  And here it is:

(photo credit: Wikipedia)

Crane flies have incredibly simple, yet sophisticated and beautiful compound eyes.  While it lacks the resolution of the eye of a mammal or bird, such an eye allows for a nearly perfect field of view, allowing a crane fly to see in every direction except for the blind spot created by their bodies. Compound eyes are also believed to have a dual-vision system, which means that they can see both dark and light, and color.  Pollinators like bees, for instance, rarely get a mature flower mixed up with a maturing or dying one. (Citation and more here)

I stared at this photo for quite some time, marveling at the intricate design of the structure of the eyes and head.  Then a question popped into my head:  Why would nature produce such a complex and functionally attractive design for an insect intended to live just two days?  Did they simply evolve (or were they created) to be food for higher animals, as some might say?  And if so, why has so much "care" (again, either by design or evolution) been taken in this seemingly insignificant organism and why so much variety among all life on Earth?

From now on, every time I see one of these awkward, spindly insects, I'll be reminded that there's a part of me that believes that the answer to our entire existence lies with the elusive response to a seemingly simple question about the eye of a crane fly. 

Why?

Rescued this one from the kitchen and held him in my open hand until he flew away.