FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
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Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
The collective imagination of humankind envisions animals to be big and in most cases to be mammals. However, insects, in fact, make up a population of about 10 quintillion. So, it's worth understanding more about the different species in this class of animals.
In this article, we will learn about the intriguing creature that is the Crane fly. Crane fly is the common name that has been given to insects that belong to the family Tipulidae. The crane flies are often referred to as 'Daddy long legs' or 'mosquito hawk'. While they resemble mosquitoes, they are not as harmful in any meaningful way. There are about 15,000 crane fly species. As crane fly larvae, they are voracious eaters as they feed on decaying wood and vegetation like algae and microflora. Surviving only for days as adult crane flies, its purpose is to seemingly mate before dying. While they are harmless to humans directly, they can be pests to crops. Thus, pest management is an important service when their population is out of control. Having been around at least since the Barremian stage and being found in every part of the world from tropics to temperate regions, it is a shame that we know very little of these creatures. Read on to learn more Crane fly facts for kids and even a few phantom crane fly facts.
If you enjoy this article, read more on western conifer seed bug and puss moth facts.
Crane flies are a type of insect.
These insects belong to the class of Insecta within which they form the family Tipulidae.
The exact population of crane flies is hard to ascertain with around 15,000 species that are divided into 525 genera.
Crane flies can be found near water bodies in temperate and tropical regions of the world.
Crane flies rely on water as part of their life cycle and can often be found near brackish, marine, or freshwater sources. The Crane fly prefers to stay underground in moist soil. Encompassing so many species, there is diversity in their habitat too. The Dolichopeza Curtis adopt the wet cushions of mosses as their habitat. Apart from moist soil and mosses, the Ctenophora meigen species can be found in woods that are decaying and Tipula Linnae can be found in arid soils of lawns or pasturelands.
Crane flies lay their eggs in close proximity to each other and thus at the larval stage they are not too far away from other Crane fly larvae. As an adult its days are numbered and that time is spent looking for a mate, before its imminent death.
A Crane fly adult can live about 10-15 days, while the larva can live between a few weeks and up to one entire year.
Adult Crane flies have the singular focus of their life to reproduce. In fact, the female Crane fly as it emerges from its pupa has eggs that are already fertilized so that no time is wasted to reproduce. During the summer months, the female adult crane flies lay eggs in grass, pastures, or vegetation. When the eggs hatch, the crane fly larvae that emerge from the eggs have a slug-like look with a tough outer skin which gives them the nickname 'leatherjackets'.
There are over 1500 species in this family, which have their own challenges and environments. Thus, there is no one conservation status label that can be applied to the Crane flies. Although, in general, most crane fly species seem to be doing alright and are not under any threat of extinction. As a whole, they are termed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List.
The Crane flies have really thin bodies that resemble the body of a mosquito, which is paired with long legs and abdomen. These insects vary in colors that range from yellow, brown to gray. Their snout or rostrum is short which has a point that looks like a beak called nasus. In their larva stage, these insects are long, sluggish, cylindrical, and have tough outer skin. The Crane fly larvae can be brown or tan in color. There is a species by the name of phantom Crane fly that has a black and white sheath close to the tips of their legs, which appear and disappear (like a phantom) in lowlight conditions.
Being an insect, they are small that it is unlikely that anyone will recognize these creatures as cute.
Female crane flies are known to vibrate to spread the scent of their pheromones to attract prospective male mating partners. In addition, they also make a buzzing sound that is close to that of a housefly.
Crane flies are bigger than mosquitoes with their length measuring between 0.4-1.2 in (1-3 cm). They are about three times as big as mosquitoes.
These insects do not have the fastest speeds, but are adept flyers with a pair of wings that are marbled, and black and white in color.
Being insects, their weight is not significant on scales that humans can comprehend easily. They are heavier than mosquitos but still have negligible mass.
Male and female Crane flies do not have any unique names.
Baby Crane flies are called larvae, and larva for singular.
In its larval stage, the Crane fly species have a great appetite and feed on decaying wood and vegetation like grass and field crops. Some species of Crane fly are known to be carnivores that prey on mosquito larvae and other small insects. In stark contrast, as adults these insects eat almost nothing (feeding on nectar only) and focus efforts on mating before they die.
In some parts of the world, Crane flies are considered to be pests. An example of this is the United States, where they have become invasive. Although they do not bite humans and cannot transmit any disease, unlike mosquitoes, they are pests to turf, field crops, and pasture grass. Thus, the answer to whether you should kill a crane fly depends on whether it's causing harm. In isolation, they are harmless and do not need to be killed.
With a lifespan of just 10-15 days as adult Crane flies, it is hard to keep these insects as pets.
The Crane fly larvae can actually serve as an important element in the upkeep of the soil ecosystem. The larvae do so by increasing the organic content of the soil and in general increasing the microbial activities in the soil. They also serve as part of the larger ecosystem where they serve as reliable prey to animals like spiders, fish, frogs, and birds.
A Crane fly bite is almost a misnomer as these insects, although look like big mosquitoes, do not actually bite. There is in fact a myth that their venom is the deadliest in the world, which does not make sense as the insect does not even bite to begin with, let alone bite with venom (which also is obviously not there).
Mosquitos measure at just 0.3-0.5 in (0.7-1.3 cm) compared to 1-1.5 in (2.5-3.8 cm) long like the crane fly. Crane flies have a V-shaped body that is paired with long slender legs which makes them unstable fliers in contrast to the agile mosquito. As opposed to the mosquito, Crane flies do not spread any disease and are, in general, harmless to humans. Crane flies are incorrectly labeled as 'mosquito eaters' or 'mosquito hawks' as they do not hunt or eat mosquitos. In fact, as adult Crane flies, they don't eat anything at all.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other arthropods including paper wasp, or Africanized bees.
You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Crane fly coloring pages.
Read The Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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