unidentified larva found underground

[ultramarine]

I've found a few of these over the years but never been able to identify them. About an inch long, quite fat with 3 pairs proper legs and 4 pairs prolegs. About 2 or 3 inches below the soil andcoils up when disturbed but if left twists and rolls itself around rather than crawling.
A caterpillar or other grub? Not in any of my reference books ( Carter and Hargreaves / Chinery )
Thanks

[Jim Ford]

Leatherjacket?

Crane fly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jim

[ultramarine]

Oh! Really? Admittedly that was the closest ID i could find. What put me off was that I wouldn't have said the skin was leathery, it seemed quite soft. And no books showed or mentioned the pairs of dark marks along the back of the beast. I guess there are different sorts of crane flies? Are the larvae different too?

[Dogghound]

Its he larvae of one of the noctuid moths, maybe an underwing.

[rob158]

I dig these up all the time, ive kept a few and they do turn into moths but im not sure what kind,

[ultramarine]

Thank you. I have the creature in a jam jar buried in some soil and put back in the ground. I shall look forward to its metamorphosis!