
Crane Fly Morphology
Morphological terminology follows that of Alexander and Byers (1981).
Crane flies are characterized by their elongate bodies, a pair of narrow wings and long, slender legs.
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Gnophomyia tristissma, by Lew Scharpf |
Erioptera sp., by Tom Murray |
Pilaria sp., by Sasha Azevedo |
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Tipula furca, by Tom Murray | Epiphragma solatrix, by Steve Scott |
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Neocladula delicatula, by Stephen Cresswell | Tipula sayi, by Gary Kessler |
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Nephrotoma ferruginea, by Philip Penketh |
Crane flies can be distinguished from all other true flies by the V-shaped transverse suture on the dorsal part of the meso-thorax, and by the absence of ocelli.
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Dolichopeza sp., by Gaga Lin |
The body length of crane flies from the front of the head to the tip of the abdomen varies depending upon species. In North America the body sizes vary from 2 mm in Tasiocera ursina, to about 55 mm in Holorusia hespera and 60 mm in the female of Leptotarsus (Longurio) testaceus.
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Tasiocera ursina, male | Holorusia hespera, female | Leptotarsus testaceus, female |
Head
The head of crane flies is composed of the large compound eyes, the long antennae, and the rostrum which bears the mouthparts.
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Tipula hirsuta, by Jay Cossey | Pedicia albivitta, by Jean-René Bibeau |
The compound eyes are large, equal size in both sexes in most species, and usually occupy most of the surface of the head. They are usually glabrous but with short erect hairs in the tribe Pediciini.
The antennae are composed of a cylindrical scape, a subspherical pedicel and 3 (Chionea) to 37 (Gynoplistia) flagellum segments (flagellomeres), commonly 11 in Tipulinae and 12-14 in Limoniinae in the Nearctic Region.
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Tipula oleracea Head, by Frank Koehler |
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Limonia annulata Head, by Tom Murray |
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Tipula sp., by Mark Plonsky |
Tipula sp., by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland |
Chionea valga, by Tom Murray |
Gonomyia sp., by Ling-Chu Lin |
The antennae are generally short to moderate in length, but are often extremely long in male of certain species of Megistocera, Polymera, and Hexatoma.
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Megistocera fuscana, male | Hexatoma cinerea, male | Polymera sp., male |
The flagellomeres are usually simple and unmodified but are branched in species of Ctenophora, Limonia (Idioglochina), and Limonia (Rhipidia).
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Ctenophora sp., by Ling-Chu Lin |
Limonia (Idioglochina) sp., by Gaga Lin |
Limonia (Rhipidia) sp., by Gaga Lin |
The rostrum is conspicuous and often extended into a small projection called nasus in flies of the subfamily Tipulinae. The rostrum is small and inconspicuous in Limoniinae, but greatly elongated in species of Limonia (Geranomyia), Elephantomyia, and Taxorhina. Mouthparts have a pair of four-segmented maxillary palpus. The palpi are short in Limoniinae and longer in Tipulinae.
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Nephrotoma alterna, by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland |
Dicranoptycha elsa, by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland |
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Elephantomyia westwoodi, by Tom Murray |
Limonia (Geranomyia) sp., by Lew Scharpf |
Toxorhina magna, by Brian Womble |
Thorax
The thorax is dominated by the sclerites of the mesothorax in both dorsal and lateral aspects, with well-developed V-shaped transverse suture on the mesodorsum. Two spiracles are situated in membranous areas on the pleural region. Halter long to very long in the Nearctic species.
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Tipula dorsimaculata, by Mark Plonsky |
ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMINOLOGY OF THE CRANE FLY HEAD AND THORAX | ||
HEAD | THORAX | Mesonotum: (including prescutum, scutum, scutellum) |
ant: antenna | a bas: anterior basalare | p bas: posterior basalare |
flgm: flagellomere | anepm: anepimeron | presct: prescutum |
lbl: labella | anepst: anepisternum | prn: pronotum |
ped: pedicel | a spr: anterior spiracle | p spr: posterior spiracle |
plp: maxillary palp | cerv scl: cervical sclerite | sct: scutum |
rst: rostrum | cx: coxa | sctl: scutellum |
scp: scape | fem: femur | tib: tibia |
hlt: halter | tro: trochanter | |
kepm: katepimeron | trn sut: transverse V suture | |
kepst: katepisternum | ||
mtn: metanotum |
Wings are normally present, but reduced or lost in a few groups, either in both sexes (Chionea) or in females only. Wing venation is highly variable within families, and are important in taxonomy.
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Tipula sp., by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland |
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Dicranoptycha sp., by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland |
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Pilaria sp., by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland |
ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMINOLOGY USED TO DESCRIBE THE CRANE FLY WING | |
A1, A2: branches of anal veins | m1, m2, m3: medial cells |
C: costa | M1, M2, M3: branches of media |
CuA: anterior branch of cubitus | R: radius |
CuA1, CuA2: branches of cubitus | R1+2, R3, R4+5: branches of radius |
d: discal cell (1st m2 cell) | r-m: radial-medial crossvein |
M: media | Rs: radial sector |
m-cu: medial-cubital crossvein | Sc: subcosta |
m-m: medial crossvein | Sc2: branch of subcosta |
Each leg consists of coxa (plural: coxae), trochanter, femur (pl. femora), tibia (pl. tibiae), and tarsus (pl. tarsi). Tibiae has zero to two terminal spurs. All crane flies have five tarsal segments (tarsomeres), and tarsal claws either simple or variously toothed.
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Chionea sp., by John Haarstad |
Abdomen
Abdomen is long and slender and with nine evident segments. The apex of abdomen in male enlarged into a club-shaped hypopygium, in female extended into elongate, acutely pointed ovipositor. They can be sexed visually in the field by these two characters.
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Nephrotoma alterna male, by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland |
Nephrotoma alterna female, by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland |
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Dicranoptycha elsa female, by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland |
Dicranoptycha elsa male, by Gayle and Jeanell strickland |
The genitalia of crane flies as a group are diverse greatly. Various authors have attempted to study these characters and proposed independently for the terminology of the reproductive apparatus. The terminology used here for the male and female genitalia, and for the identification keys follow that of Alexander and Byers (1981).
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Tipula disjuncta male, by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland |
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Tipula sp. female, by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland |