![]() ![]() Some lay eggs on the surface of a water body or in dry soils, and some reportedly simply drop them in flight. The female immediately oviposits, usually in wet soil or mats of algae. Copulation takes a few minutes to hours and may be accomplished in flight. Males also search for females by walking or flying. The adult female usually contains mature eggs as she emerges from her pupa, and often mates immediately if a male is available. ![]() The valves are sometimes modified into thick bristles or short teeth. The female ovipositor has sclerotized valves and the cerci have a smooth or dentate lower margin. Sometimes appendages are also present on sternite 8. ![]() Sternite 9 of the male genitalia has, with few exceptions, two pairs of appendages. The discoidal wing cell is usually present. There are four, rarely (when R2 is reduced) three branches of the radial vein merging into the alar margin. The sub-costal vein (Sc) joins through Sc2 with the radial vein, Sc1 is at most a short stump. In females the wings are sometimes rudimentary. The wings are monochromatic, longitudinally striped or marbled. There is a distinct V-shaped suture between the mesonotal prescutum and scutum (near the level of the wing bases). These are whorled, serrate, or ctenidial. The antennae have 13 segments (exceptionally 14–19). The apical segment of the maxillary palpi is flagelliform and much longer than the subapical segment. The rostrum (a snout) is short to very short with a beak-like point called the nasus (rarely absent). Tipulidae are medium to large-sized flies ( 7–35 mm, 1⁄ 4– 1 + 1⁄ 2 in) with elongated legs, wings, and abdomen. Most crane flies were described by the entomologist Charles Paul Alexander, a fly specialist, in over 1000 research publications. Tipulidae is one of the largest groups of flies, including over 15,000 species and subspecies in 525 genera and subgenera. They are most diverse in the tropics but are also common in northern latitudes and high elevations. Ĭrown group crane flies have existed since at least the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous and are found worldwide, though individual species usually have limited ranges. The larvae of crane flies are known commonly as leatherjackets. In colloquial speech, crane flies are sometimes known as " mosquito hawks", " skeeter-eater", or " daddy longlegs", (a term also used to describe opiliones (harvestmen) and members of the spider family Pholcidae, both of which are arachnids). In the most recent classifications, only Pediciidae is now ranked as a separate family, due to considerations of paraphyly. Cylindrotominae, Limoniinae, and Pediciinae have been ranked as subfamilies of Tipulidae by most authors, though occasionally elevated to family rank. Nephrotoma appendiculata (spotted crane fly)Ĭrane fly is a common name referring to any member of the insect family Tipulidae. ![]()
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