 |
Crane Fly - Epiphragma fasciapenne (Say, 1823) Synonyms: Limnobia fasciapennis / Limnophila pavonina Family Tipulidae -- crane flies, tipules / Subfamily Limoniinae / Tribe Hexatomini / Genus Epiphragma Osten-sacken, 1859 Adult male crane flies photographed at Winfield, Illinois. Body length: 18mm Wingspan: 20mm. More Flies at Flies of North America Main Page Graphics or Alphabetic Table of Contents |
|
|
|
Specimen identification provided by my friend, Chen W. Young, PhD Associate Curator, Invertebrate Zoology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Adult crane flies are sluggish fliers and are often abundant in moist woodlands and around water, usually near places where their larval life is spent. They occur mainly in spring and fall, but species of wingless, snow crane flies (Chionea) appear in the winter. Adult crane flies are most active in the cooler part of the day, usually around dusk. Adult males are more abundant at the beginning of the flight period while females are more numerous toward the end. Although individual adults have a relatively short life span of 10 to 15 days, the flight period for each species can last from 25-30 days. The main functions of the adult stage are mating and egg-laying. Feeding is less important, and probably water is the most pressing need. Species with elongated rostrum (Geranomyia, Elephantomyia, Toxorhina) have been reported visiting flowers, probably for nectar. |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
| Tipulidae, often called crane flies
in their adult stage, is the largest family of true
flies. Crane flies form a highly diverse group of
insects, both in number of species and in larval
habitats, which extend from aquatic to terrestrial. The
body plan or morphology of crane flies is rather
simple. An elongate body, one pair of narrow wings, and
long, slender legs characterize them. The body size
ranges from 5 to 50 mm and can be described as
mosquito-like. They are often mistaken for mosquitoes,
but they belong to a group of harmless flies and can be
distinguished from all other true flies by the
transverse V-shaped groove on the dorsal part of the
thorax. In North America, more than 1,500 species of crane flies have been described and over 300 species are known from Pennsylvania. This number probably represents only about two-thirds of the estimated actual number for the state, and much more precise taxonomic studies are needed. Crane flies undergo complete metamorphosis in their
development with a brief egg stage, a relatively long
larval feeding stage, a brief pupal resting stage, and
finally a short adult breeding stage. |
|
Custom Search
|
|
|
| More Flies at Flies of North America Main Page Graphics or Alphabetic Table of Contents | |||
 Horse Fly Family Tabanidae |
 Dung Fly Family Scathophagidae |
 Robber Flies Family Asilidae |
 Syrphid Fly Mallota sp. |