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.