common crane fly
(Tipula submaculata)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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| IUCN Red List | not listed |
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| NatureServe | not listed |
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| Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Tipula submaculata is a medium-sized common crane fly. It occurs from Nova Scotia to South Carolina west to Wisconsin and Arkansas. Adults are slender, soft-bodied, yellowish- or grayish-brown, and no more than 1″ in length. There are two large compound eyes on the sides of the head and no simple eyes (ocelli). The mouth parts are at the end of a short but conspicuous, snout-like projection (rostrum) on the front of the head. 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 13 segments. The segments are simple, not branched. Each segment is dark at the base and pale at the tip, giving the antennae a ringed appearance. 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, slender, yellowish-brown, and has nine evident segments. On the female two adjacent segments near the end of the abdomen are distinctly darker. The last 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 brown with a few whitish cells around the darkened stigma. There are two anal veins, both of them long and reaching the wing margin. The first anal vein (A1) is very long and straight, curving abruptly to the inner margin just at the end. |
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Size |
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Total length: no more than 1″ |
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Similar Species |
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Tipula mallochi and Tipula submaculata are extremely similar in appearance. Females cannot be told apart. Males can be differentiated only by examining their genitalia under a microscope. Neither species has been recorded in Minnesota. The known range of Tipula mallochi is from Maryland to Florida west to Illinois and Missouri. The range of Tipula submaculata is from Nova Scotia to South Carolina west to Wisconsin and Arkansas. |
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Habitat |
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Biology |
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Behavior |
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Life Cycle |
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Larva Food |
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Adult Food |
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Distribution |
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| 6/16/2021 | ||||
Occurrence |
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Taxonomy |
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Order |
Diptera (flies) | ||
Suborder |
Nematocera (long-horned flies) | ||
Infraorder |
Tipulomorpha (crane flies) | ||
Superfamily |
Tipuloidea (typical crane flies) | ||
Family |
Tipulidae (large crane flies) | ||
Subfamily |
Tipulinae | ||
Genus |
Tipula (common crane flies) | ||
Subgenus |
Lunatipula | ||
Synonyms |
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Tipula cuspidata |
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Common Names |
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This species has no common name. The common name of the genus Tipula is common crane flies, and it is applied here for convenience. |
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Glossary
Mesonotum
The principal exoskeletal plate on the upper (dorsal) part of the middle segment of the thorax of an insect.
Ocellus
Simple eye; an eye with a single lens. Plural: ocelli.
Ovipositor
A tube-like organ near the end of the abdomen of many female insects, used to prepare a place for an egg and to place the egg.
Palp
Short for pedipalp. A segmented, finger-like process of an arthropod; one is attached to each maxilla and two are attached to the labium. They function as sense organs in spiders and insects, and as weapons in scorpions. Plural: palpi or palps.
Rostrum
The stiff, beak-like projection of the carapace or prolongation of the head of an insect, crustacean, or cetacean.
Stigma
In plants, the portion of the female part of the flower that is receptive to pollen. In Lepidoptera, an area of specialized scent scales on the forewing of some skippers, hairstreaks, and moths. In other insects, a thickened, dark, or opaque cell on the leading edge of the wing.
Tibia
The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot). The fifth segment of a spider leg or palp.
Visitor Photos |
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Greg Watson |
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| I went out to Vetsch Park in La Crescent for a hike and took this picture of mating crane flies. Tipula submaculata was the closest I could come to in identifying them. |  |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Visitor Sightings |
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| Greg Watson 5/24/2021 |
Location: Vetsch Park, La Crescent MN I went out to Vetsch Park in La Crescent for a hike and took this picture of mating crane flies. Tipula submaculata was the closest I could come to in identifying them. |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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Created: 6/16/2021
Last Updated: