Tampa Sees Crane Fly Boom

They may be horrifying, but seeing the crane fly return in their large, long-limbed droves isn’t as bad as you think. Though they look like giant mosquitoes, they aren’t. If you see a crane fly, don’t worry. Luckily, they don’t bite. This insect does not have a long proboscis and isn’t even seen feeding on anything. They have long, fragile legs and wings.

The adult female usually contains mature eggs as she emerges from her pupa, and often mates immediately if a male is available. Males also search for females by walking or flying. Copulation takes a few minutes to hours and often accomplished in flight. Adults have a lifespan of 10 to 15 days, so if you see them don’t worry. They won’t be around for long.

The female immediately oviposits, usually in wet soil or mats of algae. Some lay eggs on the surface of a water body or in dry soils, and some reportedly merely drop them in flight. Most crane fly eggs are black. They often have a filament, which may help anchor the egg in wet or aquatic environments.

Larval Habitat

Larval habitats include all kinds of freshwater, semiaquatic environments. Some Tipulinae, including Dolichopeza Curtis, is found in moist to wet cushions of mosses or liverworts.

Ctenophora Meigen species enjoys decaying wood or sodden logs. Nephrotoma Meigen and Tipula Linnaeus larvae are live in dry soils of pasturelands, lawns, and steppe. Tipulidae larvae live in rich organic earth and mud, in wet spots in woods where the hummus is saturated, in leaf litter or dirt, decaying plant materials, or fruits in various stages of putrefaction.

The common European crane fly, Tipula paludosa, and the marsh crane fly, T. oleracea, are agricultural pests in Europe. Crane fly larvae of economic importance live in the top layers of soil where they feed on the roots, root hairs, crown, and sometimes the leaves of crops, stunting their growth or killing the plants. They are pests on a variety of commodities. Since the late 1900s, T. paludosa and T. oleracea have become invasive in the United States.

So if you’re not a farmer, don’t worry. The crane fly is nothing to be afraid of