Today’s bug of the week comes from Michael O’Flynn, who took a photo of this leggy creature earlier this year. “It looks a lot like a crane fly to us, but this one looks like it’s overfed,” O’Flynn said in an email. To show the creature’s size, O’Flynn placed his watch next to it. A post on Wikepedia stated that a crane fly, which looks like a large male mosquito, usually has a thin body and stilt-like legs that are “defoliating”, which easily detach from the body. Their wingspan can usually reach 6.5 cm, although some species can reach 11 cm. Orkin Canada said crane flies are commonly associated with moist plant habitats. Crane fly larvae can be found in moist soil feeding on decaying vegetation and various plant roots. Some species may be found in streams feeding on small aquatic insects, invertebrates and any decaying plant life found near the surface.’ “They survive best in mild winters and cool summers, with adults emerging in late spring from lawns and pastures,” the company says. “Adult cranes do not feed. Larvae are the only forms of food. Food sources for the larvae remain abundant due to the areas the insects inhabit, including parts of Atlantic Canada and western provinces such as British Columbia near the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest in the US.” Crane flies are also completely harmless.
