Cranefly
This cranefly picture comes from Andrew Lin, who has a great name for it:
I was just about to go out into the backyard when I got buzzed by this
mosquito hawk. I guess the proper common name is Crane Fly (genus
Tipula), but I’ve always referred to them as “mosquito hawks” (even
though, if Wikipedia is correct, they don’t eat mosquitoes) or “those
really fragile long-limbed flying things”. Anyway, it bounced off the
sliding glass door for a bit, then landed on the frame to recover from
the concussion, allowing me to take some pictures.
Andrew says it was about 15-20mm long.
I was about to post this as a mosquito—in fact, I had it slotted up as such. I was about to point out that you can’t see the halteres (the little nubby “fiddly bits” where the hind wings would be on a four-winged bug), but then I remembered how bad I suck at identifying bugs, and had another look. You’ll need the larger image to see them, but they’re there. Look where the far hind leg raises up from the body: that little clear dot is the haltere.
Thanks, Andrew!
Slowly getting the site back onto an even keel. It's nice to get back into the old posting rhythm.
JFargo said,
July 26, 2008 @ 10:18 am
Ah, so that’s how you tell the difference. I never was sure.
Nice shot Andrew! Love the phrase “Mosquito hawk.”
Athena said,
July 26, 2008 @ 10:33 am
I grew up calling them mosquito hawks as well.
Tiogshi said,
July 26, 2008 @ 11:00 am
We called them “Mosquito-eaters” up where I live, in coastal BC. Even though, yes, they don’t eat mosquitos. About all they really do is make it easy to find cobwebs; these guys will fly about along the walls, and then get caught in a web, and they’re so big it’s easy to see them struggling.