common crane fly

Tipula furca is a common, medium-sized, “large” crane fly. It occurs in the United States and southern Canada east of the Great Plains.

Adults are active from April through September. They are found in grassy areas near streams. They are short-lived and do not feed. The larvae are aquatic. They are found in the moist earth and debris at the sides of streams. They feed on decaying vegetation, fungi, roots, foliage, and occasionally animal matter.

Adults are slender, soft-bodied, yellowish brown or grayish brown, and ½″ to 11⁄16″ (13 to 18 mm) in length.

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 antennae are short, about as long as the head. They have 13 segments. The segments are simple, not branched. Each segment has an enlarged base and a whorl of medium-length hairs at the base. 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 the first three segments combined.

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

The wings have white and dark striping. There is a narrow brown stripe on the leading edge (costal margin), with a clear patch just beyond the midpoint, followed by a darker, brownish-gray patch. Cell m₁ and the second cell m₂ are uniformly darkened at the base. The first cell m₂, which is the discal cell, is entirely clear. Cell r has a pale area before vein Rs. The outer part of cell R₅ is white. The radius (R) vein has three branches. The radial sector (Rs) vein is long. The media vein (M) is dark, bold, and forked near the margin, and there is a dark seam on veins Cu and m-cu. The basal section of the first branch of the cubitus vein (Cu_1a) is long and joins with the third media vein (M₃), which makes the discal cell appear to have five sides. There are two anal veins, both of them long and reaching the wing margin. The cell at the end of the first branch of Cu_1a, which is designated as cu_1a, is only slightly wider at the base than at the margin.

The legs are long and slender, but of normal length and thickness for a crane fly. The last part of the leg (tarsus) has 5 segments. The tarsus is not longer than the third segment (femur) and fourth segment (tibia) taken together.

The abdomen is long and slender, but it is not greatly elongated. It has nine visible segments. It is dark brown with a pale, longitudinal stripe in the middle.

Total length: ½″ to 11⁄16″ (13 to 18 mm)

Grassy areas near streams

April through September

Decaying vegetation, fungi, roots, foliage, and occasionally animal matter

Adults do not feed

Sources

29, 30, 82, 83.

Common

Male

Alfredo Colon
6/21/2024

Location: Albany, NY

Alfredo Colon
6/20/2024

Location: Albany, NY

Alfredo Colon
8/20/2022

Location: Albany, NY

Alfredo Colon
8/17/2022

Location: Albany, NY

Alfredo Colon
8/11/2022

Location: Albany, NY

Alfredo Colon
8/3/2022

Location: Albany, NY