365 Urban Species. #142: Crane Fly

[urbpan]

Urban species #142: Crane fly Nephrotoma ferruginea

Almost everybody has had the harrowing experience of encountering what appears to be the world's largest mosquito bumbling around the light fixture, or perched ominously on the wall. The insect is ignored, caught and released outdoors, or (most likely) flattened with a blunt instrument. The insect in question is the harmless, which is to say non-biting, crane fly. There are hundreds of species of them, and when they are fully grown, most do not feed on anything at all, never mind on human blood. Their larvae live in the soil feeding on the roots of grass and other plants, and are called "leatherjackets" by those who attempt to exterminate them. Of course, if insecticide is used to control them, predacious insects such as ground beetles are killed as well, possibly exacerbating the problem. Adult crane flies live a very short time, and are important prey for bats, swallows, and chimney swifts.

Comments

[cavalaxis]

Huh. Ya learn something new every day. I've always heard them called Mosquito Hawks out here in California. I had a cat who would climb anything to catch them. It was not an uncommon site to see her grinning broadly with these tiny legs flailing between her lips.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Huh, indeed! I've never heard them called mosquito hawks, I wonder if its a regional thing. I've read that dragonflies are sometimes called that, however.

[hissilliness.livejournal.com]

I've heard the term used for what you call Crane Flies here in Boston.

[klandaghicat.livejournal.com]

Yup, Skeeter-gitters, or Mosquito Hawks. Way cool info! I'll pass it on to the kid, who absolutely wigs over them! We like bats, and I rarely kill these guys anyway.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Are you also Californian? "Skeeter-gitters," sounds rather rustic--and also applies better to dragonflies. Hmmm.

Some time I need to ask you about your pet skunks. I take care of three wild-born captives, and apparently there is quite a controversy between the pet skunk-owner and zoo skunk-keeper communities about what to feed them.

[klandaghicat.livejournal.com]

Hee hee! I am actually, Californian, originally. I don't remember where we picked up the idea that these eat mosquitoes. WA State, maybe? Where, I do remember huge mosquitoes. "Skeeter-gitter" probably came from living in AR or AL. My husband, a 3rd generation Atlantan, also calls them mosquito hawks.

E-mail me (my addy is on my UI). There's a lot of controversy regarding skunk diet among skunk owners, even. I've wondered if wild-caught and captive-bred skunks have different requirements, but I think it would have to do with the intent to release of the wild-caught. I've known of some who were kept, de-scented, and lived out long, happy lives in homes. I don't think anyone has diet exactly right, but I do know several people who've done a really good job of keeping their guys alive and healthy and each one has a different view on the matter. I can definitely discuss what doesn't work!

I want to add, thank you, also! Thanks to you, and your lj, I was able to talk for over two hours to my son's cousin, find common topics, and turn what would've been an uncomfortable journey into an enjoyable experience! He flew into Atlanta from Boston Saturday. I had to drive him to Montgomery. At the GA/AL state line, we saw no less than 9 roadkill armadillos, btw. It makes me wonder if GA is baiting them to prevent their becoming established in GA. There was also a large coyote, a fox (very small, reddish) a large rodent (hard to tell, beaver, maybe), the usual deer. No opossums, suprisingly.

[eringryffin.livejournal.com]

Hmm. A couple Southerners I know call them "skeeter-eaters," which sounds pretty close to that first term.

Me, I have always called them "wispety bugs," because of the way they flutter madly about trailing those overly-long legs. :)

[lynsage.livejournal.com]

wow. when i was a little kid somebody told me that those things were male mosquitoes and not to kill them because they don't bite like the females.

and i believed it until just now.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I was told that, too, for some reason. Folk biology is interesting (if annoying).

Male mosquitoes feed on nectar, and pollinate flowers, but I assume they are the same size as the females, or smaller.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

I don't remember where I got this knowledge, but I'm going to guess from mom. Male mosquitoes don't bite and they're significantly larger than the females. I don't have a lot of nature facts stuck in my head, but for some reason, I'm utterly convinced of this and will remain so until you tell me otherwise.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

From a mosquito control website:
I saw this male mosquito, and it was HUGE!! - Actually, you probably saw a crane fly - looks similar to a mosquito, but is much larger. Male mosquitoes are smaller than the female, has no proboscis (mouth parts for piercing the skin) and has fuzzy antennae. Most people will never see a male mosquito.

The crane fly=male mosquito myth seems to be far-reaching and persistant. Don't hold it against mom.

I think this particular myth sticks because it "explains" crane flies in a way that seems scientific, and believing it doesn't cause any harm--unlike, say, believing that milkweed is edible (wait for the wild food people to attack me on this one).

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

Okay. You've convinced me. I'll stop passing along that bit of bad info.

btw, either before you were born, or not long after, mom cooked up some milkweed for us. It tasted terrible. So much for that experiment. Fortunately, the indian cucumbers were a much bigger success.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Oh god, I don't remember that story. Euell Gibbons was trying to kill us!

The secret to all wild plants (except fruits) is that they taste terrible. Think about it: broccoli and spinach are cultivated plants, that took a lot of time and effort to develop. Plants (except for some fruits) don't want to be eaten, so they put some energy into tasting bad--or in the case of milkweed, being out and out poisonous.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

I stand by the indian cucumbers. Those were mighty tasty.

[okaree.livejournal.com]

Not all cranefly grubs live in the soil - Tipulidae (and maybe some other families?) are big, maggoty aquatic suckers. A tasty treat for trout, no doubt!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

No doubt. I heard some time ago that aquatic crane fly larvae are predators of mosquito larvae. Is this true?

[okaree.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I was only half right - some tipulids are soil-dwellers too! Most eat leaf and root bits, but I've heard that a few are predators as well.

[okaree.livejournal.com]

PS: your icon makes me happy. :D
Where is it from?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

It's a panel from Jay Stephen's Land of Nod comic book (from back when comics were printed on paper).

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

Yay, you identified it!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Near enough, I think. I used this site, and was swayed by the photographs, and this phrase: "...the one most likely to be found in urban and suburban habitats."

If you (or anyone else) can say that I'm wrong, it's fine with me.

[burning-brain.livejournal.com]

So it's not true that crane flies prey on mosquitoes?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Doesn't seem to be. I've heard tell that some species' aquatic larvae prey on mosquito larvae, though.

"Mosquito Hawk" is a common name I've heard before, for dragonflies--which do prey on mosquitoes. There's several potentially confusing things about this animal, apparently. At least no one here calls them "daddy-long-legs."

[punkydolly.livejournal.com]

...until now, 'cause I call them daddy long legs! They are the only insect I detest, due to getting one caught in my hair as a child - having it disintegrate all over me was a bad experience, but still I wouldn't harm one. Your post is interesting because as far as I know, nobody in the UK would mistake one for a mosquito and I can only see the resemblance now.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I've been waiting for someone from the UK to weigh in on this, ever since I made this post. So what do you call this animal in the UK?

[punkydolly.livejournal.com]

That looks like a harvestman to me, although the ones we get are usually a paler colour. They are neither insects nor arachnids, is that right?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

They are non-spider arachnids, and in the states they are usually called "daddy long legs." So confusing! I've been calling them harvestmen, grudgingly, until I come across a better name.

[artnoose.livejournal.com]

Hooray! I've been a champion of the crane fly for over a decade--- meaning that I correct EVERYONE when they call them "mosquito hawks" or "mosquito eaters" or suggest that they are either big mosquitos or predators of the tiny little things.

Glad that the truth is being promoted.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

The truth is confusing! Large mosquito-like insects that don't eat?! Glad you are on the case.

[ms-cantrell.livejournal.com]

we call those skeeter eaters and practice the catch and release method of friendly pest control. my daughter is scared of them, but prefers them to the actual skeeters.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I got over my fear of them the way I get over any nervousness handling bugs: I handle them, and if they don't bite me, I'm not afraid any more. Good thing black widows aren't common where I live!

[ms-cantrell.livejournal.com]

i used to let daddy-long-legs walk on me, but no longer. aphid spiders are about the largest/ugliest spider i'll allow. they're too creepy. pretty much all other bugs are ok, though.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Daddy long-legs meaning harvestmen, crane flies, or cellar spiders?

[ms-cantrell.livejournal.com]

those harvestmen look like what i call daddy-long legs, although the body looks a little bigger and the front legs look a bit longer. for some reason, they looked a lot friendlier when i was a kid ;-)

funny how there are so many names for each bug/spider, but i guess there are regional differences in many bugs as well as different naming habits.

[artemii.livejournal.com]

when i curiously plugged the term "mosquito hawk" into google, i got a wiki "dis page" that said that dragonflies, crane flies, and a particular kind of fishing fly are all commonly called mosquito hawks. who knew!

by the way, i often see the crane fly in your photo up here in camberville. have you done a 365 already on robber flies, that i missed?

[artemii.livejournal.com]

ack, that should read "disambiguation page".

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

have you done a 365 already on robber flies, that i missed?
One of those bastards holds still long enough for a picture I'll do it, but no, not yet.

[artemii.livejournal.com]

somewhere i have some photos of one eating some prey, but a quick dig around my files failed to locate it.

Mosquito eaters

[(Anonymous)]

So they don't eat mosquitos huh? That makes me feel better about eating them I guess. mmmm. crunchy.

you people are full of info - thanks.

Re: Mosquito eaters

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

It's nice to get comments from bats.

[godorion.livejournal.com]

I grew up here in Texas (El Campo... Wharton County) and we always called them mosquito hawks. And we weren't allowed to kill them. Had to trap and take outside.

[copperwolf.livejournal.com]

Many many months after the post... but I got here via your "Top 8 Urban Animals" reprise. When I was in grade school, one of these flies was on my desk while I was doing homework, and I could've sworn it fell apart while I was watching -- that is, its legs fell off! I was horrified. Thinking back, I can't be sure whether it was alive when I noticed it.

killing em

[(Anonymous)]

i used to hate these things, but now i love em. i found that theyre really fun to kill, especially when theyre all fuckin emergin out of the ground, where i give them a good stampin on