Crane Flies

Crane Flies, or "Daddy Longlegs," a family of flies (Diptera), known as the Tipulidae. The main characters of this group are the long slender legs, long narrow wings, a cylindrical abdomen, and elongated antennas. Tipula oleracea (Linn.) is probably the commonest English species, and its larvae do serious damage to grass by feeding on the roots. They are especially well known, owing to their occurrence all through the year, as some of them, e.g. the "Winter Gnat" (Trichocera hiemalis, Ineig.), attain maturity then; this species is a small one, being only about 1/4 inch in length, but it lives in large swarms. The largest known Crane Fly is a species from North China, which measures 4-1/2 inches across the wings.