A crane fly is any member of the dipteransuperfamilyTipuloidea, which contains the living families Cylindrotomidae, Limoniidae, Pediciidae and Tipulidae, as well as several extinct families. "Winter crane flies", members of the family Trichoceridae, are sufficiently different from the typical crane flies of Tipuloidea to be excluded from the superfamily Tipuloidea, and are placed as their sister group within Tipulomorpha.
The classification of crane flies has been varied in the past, with some or all of these families treated as subfamilies,[1] but the following classification is currently accepted.[2][3][4][5][6] (Species counts are approximate, and vary over time.)[4]
In colloquial speech, crane flies are known as mosquito hawks or "skeeter-eaters", though they do not actually prey on adult mosquitos or other insects.[7][8] They are also sometimes called "daddy longlegs",[7] a name which is also used for arachnids of the family Pholcidae and the order Opiliones. The larvae of crane flies are known commonly as leatherjackets.[7]
Crane flies first appeared during the Middle Triassic, around 245 million years ago, making them one of the oldest known groups of flies,[9] and are found worldwide, though individual species usually have limited ranges. They are most diverse in the tropics but are also common in northern latitudes and high elevations.[10]
More than 15,500 species and over 500 genera of crane flies have been described, the majority by Charles Paul Alexander, who published descriptions of 10,890 new species and subspecies, and 256 new genera and subgenera over a period of 71 years, from 1910 to 1981.[4][11]
An adult crane fly, resembling an oversized male mosquito, typically has a slender body and long, stilt-like legs that are deciduous, easily coming off the body.[12][2] Like other insects, their wings are marked with wing interference patterns which vary among species, thus are useful for species identification.[13] They occur in moist, temperate environments such as vegetation near lakes and streams.[2] They generally do not feed, but some species consume nectar, pollen and/or water.[14]
The wingspan is generally about 1.0 to 6.5cm (1⁄2 to 2+1⁄2in), though some species of Holorusia can reach 11cm (4+1⁄4in).[15] The antennae have up to 19 segments.[7] It is also characterized by a V-shaped suture or groove on the back of the thorax (mesonotum) and by its wing venation.[10] The rostrum is long and in some species as long as the head and thorax together.[16]
Larvae occur in various habitats including marshes, springs, decaying wood, moist soil, leaf litter, fungi, vertebrate nests and vegetation. They usually feed on decaying plant matter and microbes associated with this, but some species instead feed on living plants, fungi or other invertebrates.[12]
Tipuloidea are medium to large-sized flies (7–35mm, 1⁄4–1+1⁄2in) with elongated legs, wings, and abdomen. Their colour is yellow, brown or grey. Ocelli are absent. The rostrum (a snout) is short to very short with a beak-like point called the nasus (rarely absent). The apical segment of the maxillary palpi is flagelliform (whip-like) and much longer than the subapical segment. The antennae have 13 segments (exceptionally 14–19). These are whorled, serrate, or ctenidial (comb-like). There is a distinct V-shaped suture between the mesonotal prescutum and scutum (near the level of the wing bases). The wings are monochromatic, longitudinally striped or marbled. In females the wings are sometimes rudimentary. The sub-costal vein (Sc) joins through Sc2 with the radial vein, Sc1 is at most a short stump. There are four, rarely (when R2 is reduced) three branches of the radial vein merging into the alar margin. The discoidal wing cell is usually present. The wing has two anal veins. Sternite 9 of the male genitalia has, with few exceptions, two pairs of appendages. Sometimes appendages are also present on sternite 8. The female ovipositor has sclerotized valves and the cerci have a smooth or dentate lower margin. The valves are sometimes modified into thick bristles or short teeth.
The larva is elongated, usually cylindrical. The posterior two-thirds of the head capsule is enclosed or retracted within the prothoracic segment. The larva is metapneustic (with only one pair of spiracles, these on the anal segment of the abdomen), but often with vestigial lateral spiracles (rarely apneustic). The head capsule is sclerotized anteriorly and deeply incised ventrally and often dorsolaterally. The mandibles are opposed and move in the horizontal or oblique plane. The abdominal segments have transverse creeping welts. The terminal segments of the abdomen are glabrous, often partially sclerotized and bearing posterior spiracles. The spiracular disc is usually surrounded by lobe-like projections and anal papillae or lobes.
Tipulidae
Dolichopeza
Biology
A pair of crane flies (Tipulidae) mating
Crane fly exiting pupa
Mating craneflies—the light brown one with bipectinate antennae is male
Adults have a lifespan of 10 to 15 days.[17] 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 may be accomplished in flight. 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 simply drop them in flight. Most crane fly eggs are black in color. They often have a filament, which may help anchor the egg in wet or aquatic environments.[11]
Crane fly larvae (leatherjackets) have been observed in many habitat types on dry land and in water,[11] including marine, brackish, and fresh water.[16] They are cylindrical in shape, but taper toward the front end, and the head capsule is often retracted into the thorax. The abdomen may be smooth, lined with hairs, or studded with projections or welt-like spots. Projections may occur around the spiracles.[16] Larvae may eat algae, microflora, and living or decomposing plant matter, including wood. Some are predatory.[10][11]
Ecology
A collection of crane flies
Larval habitats include all kinds of freshwater, semiaquatic environments. Some Tipuloidea, including Dolichopeza, are found in moist to wet cushions of mosses or liverworts. Ctenophora species are found in decaying wood or sodden logs. Nephrotoma and Tipula larvae are found in dry soils of pasturelands, lawns, and steppe. Tipuloidea larvae are also found in rich organic earth and mud, in wet spots in woods where the humus is saturated, in leaf litter or mud, decaying plant materials, or fruits in various stages of putrefaction.
Larvae can be important in the soil ecosystem, because they process organic material and increase microbial activity.[11] Larvae and adults are also valuable prey items for many animals, including insects, spiders, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals.[16]
Adult crane flies may be used for transport by aquatic species of the mite family Ascidae. This is known as phoresis.[18]
Pest status
The thorax of a crane fly
Some members of the tipulid genus Tipula, such as the European crane fly, Tipula paludosa and the marsh crane fly T. oleracea are agricultural pests in Europe. The larvae of these species 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.[19][20][21] The larvae have been observed on many crops, including vegetables, fruits, cereals, pasture, lawn grasses, and ornamental plants.
In 1935, Lord's Cricket Ground in London was among venues affected by leatherjackets. Several thousand were collected by ground staff and burned, because they caused bald patches on the pitch and the pitch took unaccustomed spin for much of the season.[22]
Phylogenetics
Tipulidae with large antennae
The phylogenetic position of the Tipuloidea remains uncertain. The classical viewpoint that they are an early branch of Diptera[23][24]—perhaps (with the Trichoceridae) the sister group of all other Diptera—is giving way to modern views that they are more highly derived.[25] This is thanks to evidence from molecular studies, which is consistent with the more derived larval characters similar to those of 'higher' Diptera.[26] The Pediciidae and Tipulidae are sister groups (the "limoniids" are a paraphyletic clade).[12] Specifically, Limoniidae has recently been treated by numerous authors at the rank of family, but subsequent phylogenetic analyses revealed that the remaining groups of tipulids render the group paraphyletic.[12] The Cylindrotomidae appear to be a relict group that was much better represented in the Tertiary.[27] Tipulidae probably evolved from ancestors in the Upper Jurassic, the Architipulidae, and representatives of the Limoniidae are known from the Upper Triassic.
Common names
Numerous common names have been applied to the crane fly. Many of the names are more or less regional in the U.S., including mosquito hawk, mosquito eater, gallinipper, and gollywhopper.[28] They are also known as "daddy longlegs" in English-speaking countries outside the U.S.,[7] not to be confused with the U.S. usages of "daddy long legs" that refer to either arachnids of the order Opiliones or the family Pholcidae. The larvae of crane flies are known commonly as leatherjackets.[7]
They are also known as Jenny long legs in Scotland.[29] In Ireland, they are generally called 'daddy long legs' in English, whereas in Irish they are commonly known as Pilib an Gheataire, which means Skinny Philip.[29][30]
Misconceptions
There is an enduring urban legend that crane flies are the most venomous insects in the world; however, they have neither venom nor the ability to bite.[31] The myth probably arose due to their being confused with the cellar spider as they are also informally called "daddy longlegs", and although the arachnid does possess venom, it is not especially potent.[32]
Despite widely held beliefs that adult crane flies (or "mosquito hawks") prey on mosquito populations, the adult crane fly is anatomically incapable of killing or consuming other insects.[33] Although the adults of some species may feed on nectar, the adults of many species have such short lifespans that they do not eat at all.[34]
Tipulidae is a family of large crane flies in the order Diptera. There are more than 30 genera and 4,200 described species in Tipulidae, common and widespread throughout the world.
The Tipulomorpha are an infraorder of Nematocera, containing the crane flies, a very large group, and allied families.
The Nematocera are a suborder of elongated flies with thin, segmented antennae and mostly aquatic larvae. This group is paraphyletic and contains all flies except for species from suborder Brachycera, which includes more commonly known species such as the housefly or the common fruit fly. The equivalent clade to Nematocera is the whole Diptera, with Brachycera as a subclade. Families in Nematocera include mosquitoes, crane flies, gnats, black flies, and multiple families commonly known as midges. The Nematocera typically have fairly long, fine, finely-jointed antennae. In many species, such as most mosquitoes, the female antennae are more or less threadlike, but the males have spectacularly plumose antennae.
Trichoceridae, or winter crane flies, of the order Diptera are long, thin, delicate insects superficially similar in appearance to the Tipulidae, Tanyderidae, and Ptychopteridae. The presence of ocelli distinguishes the Trichoceridae from these other families. There are approximately 160 known species. The adults can be found flying in the fall and the spring and some are active even in the winter, hence their common name. They form dancing, loose swarms of mostly males. Adults can also be found resting inside caves and hollow logs. Larvae occur in moist habitats where they feed on decaying organic matter. They are important contributors to winter food webs.
Limoniidae is the largest of four crane fly families, with more than 10,700 species in more than 150 genera. Some studies have suggested it to be a paraphyletic group, with some limoniids being more closely related to Tipulidae and Cylindrotomidae than to other limoniids. Limoniid crane flies can usually be distinguished by the way the wings are held at rest. Limoniids usually hold/fold the wings along the back of the body, whereas other crane flies usually hold them out at right angles. Snow flies such as Chionea scita have no wings at all. Limoniids are also usually smaller than other crane flies, with some exceptions.
Chionea is a genus of wingless limoniid crane flies. It consists of two subgenera, the holarctic Chionea and palaearctic Sphaeconophilus. About 37 species are currently recognized in the northern hemisphere, but there are probably several undescribed species. They are commonly called snow flies.
Tipula paludosa is a species of true craneflies, family Tipulidae. It is also known as the European crane fly or the marsh crane fly. It is a pest in grasslands of Northwest Europe and has been accidentally introduced to North America.
Tipula fulvipennis is a species of true crane flies in the family Tipulidae.
The Cylindrotomidae or long-bodied craneflies are a family of crane flies. More than 65 extant species in 9 genera occur worldwide. There are more than 20 extinct species.
Cylindrotoma is a genus of crane fly in the family Cylindrotomidae.
Stibadocera is a genus of crane fly in the family Cylindrotomidae. Stibadocera are unusual for crane flies in that the males have very long antenna, sometimes as long as the body. Most species are very small (6–10 mm).
Liogma is a genus of crane fly in the family Cylindrotomidae.
Stibadocerella is a genus of crane fly in the family Cylindrotomidae.
Stibadocerina is a genus of crane fly in the family Cylindrotomidae.
Stibadocerodes is a genus of crane fly in the family Cylindrotomidae.
Triogma is a genus of crane fly in the family Cylindrotomidae.
The Stibadocerinae are one of two subfamilies in the crane fly family Cylindrotomidae. Stibadocerinae has a total of 20 recorded species, found only in the southern hemisphere.
Diptera is an order of winged insects commonly known as flies. Diptera, which are one of the most successful groups of organisms on Earth, are very diverse biologically. None are truly marine but they occupy virtually every terrestrial niche. Many have co-evolved in association with plants and animals. The Diptera are a very significant group in the decomposition and degeneration of plant and animal matter, are instrumental in the breakdown and release of nutrients back into the soil, and whose larvae supplement the diet of higher agrarian organisms. They are also an important component in food chains.
Limonia nubeculosa, also known as the short-palped cranefly, is a species of crane flies in the family of Limoniidae.
Chionea scita is a species of crane fly in the family Limoniidae. C. scita is known as a type of snow crane fly because it is commonly seen walking on piles of snow during the winter months. These flies are also often observed in caves and heavily wooded areas. C. scita flies are small, hairy, wingless, and somewhat spider-like in appearance, unlike other flies.
References
↑ Alexander C.P., Byers G.W. (1981) Tipulidae. in: McAlpine J.F. et al. (Ed.), Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, pp. 153–1902 ISBN0-660-10731-7pdfArchived 2013-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
1 2 3 4 5 Oosterbroek, P. Superfamily Tipuloidea, Family Tipulidae. Chapter 2 In: Evenhuis, N. L. (Ed.) Catalog of the Diptera of the Australasian and Oceanian Regions, Issue 86 of Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication. Apollo Press. 1989.
1 2 3 4 Petersen, Matthew J.; Bertone, Matthew A.; Wiegmann, Brian M.; Courtney, Gregory W. (2010). "Phylogenetic synthesis of morphological and molecular data reveals new insights into the higher-level classification of Tipuloidea (Diptera)". Systematic Entomology. 35 (3): 526–545. Bibcode:2010SysEn..35..526P. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00524.x. S2CID86724439.
↑ Jackson D. M, Campbell R. L. Biology of the European crane fly, Meigen, in western Washington (Tipulidae: Diptera). Washington State University Technical Bull. No. 81. 1975.
J.F. McAlpine, B.V. Petersen, G.E. Shewell, H.J. Teskey, J.R. Vockeroth, D.M. Wood. Eds. 1987 Manual of Nearctic Diptera Volume 1 Research Branch Agriculture Canada, 1987 pdf key to Nearctic genera
Pierre C.,1924, Diptères: Tipulidae Faune de France n° 8 Bibliotheque Virtuelle Numerique Out of date but online at no cost. In French.
E. N. Savchenko Family Tipulidae in Bei-Bienko, G. Ya, 1988 Keys to the insects of the European Part of the USSR Volume 5 (Diptera) Part 2 English edition. Keys to Palaearctic species but now needs revision.
External links
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