European crane fly

Description

European crane fly is a large, exotic, invasive, crane fly. It is native to northwestern Europe. It was first reported in North America in 1955 in Nova Scotia. Separate populations were found in British Columbia in 1965 and in Ontario in 1996. It has since spread rapidly and now occurs throughout the United States. It is still uncommon in the upper Midwest, including in Minnesota. Adults are found from late July to September in nurseries, sod farms, golf courses, agricultural crops, hay fields, lawns, and gardens. They do not feed. Larvae, called leatherjackets, are found in the top three inches of soil. They feed on the roots of grasses and a variety other plants.

Adults are slender, soft-bodied, yellowish-brown, and 1″ to 1 3⁄16″ (2.5 to 3.0 cm) in length. They look like oversize mosquitoes.

There are two large compound eyes on the sides of the head and no simple eyes (ocelli). The compound eyes are bare, not covered with hairs. The gap between the compound eyes on the underside of the head is wide. The mouth parts are at the end of a short but conspicuous, snout-like projection (rostrum) on the front of the head. At the tip of the rostrum, on the upper side, there is a short pointed extension (nasus). The lower jaws (maxillae) have long sensory structures (palps) attached. Each palp has four segments. The fourth segment is antennae-like and very long, longer than first three segments combined. The antennae are short and have 14 segments. The segments are simple, not branched. Each segment has a whorl of long hairs at the base.

The upper thoracic plate (mesonotum) is brownish-gray with dull, darker gray, longitudinal stripes. It has a distinct, V-shaped groove (suture) on top near the wing bases.

The abdomen is long and slender, and has nine evident segments. Each segment is yellowish-brown with a dark, upper (middorsal), longitudinal stripe, and a small dash-like spot on each side of the stripe. The last abdominal segment on the female has a long, acutely pointed, egg-laying apparatus (ovipositor). On the male, the last segment is enlarged into a club-shaped structure (hypopygium) that supports the copulatory apparatus.

The wings are tinted grayish-brown. There is a narrow dark stripe on the leading edge (costal margin), and a narrow pale stripe just inside the dark stripe. The radius vein (R) has three branches. There are two anal veins, both of them long and reaching the wing margin. On the female, the wings do not reach the tip of the abdomen.

The legs are long and slender. The fourth leg segment (tibia) of each leg has two spurs at the tip.

Size

Total length: 1″ to 1 3⁄16″ (2.5 to 3.0 cm)

Similar Species

Habitat

Nurseries, sod farms, golf courses, agricultural crops, hay fields, lawns, and gardens

Ecology

Season

Late July to September

Behavior

The wings are held spread at almost right angles when at rest.

Life Cycle

Larva Food/Hosts

Roots of a variety of grasses and other plants

Adult Food

Adults do not feed