crane fly

Class: Hexapoda (animals with six legs - includes all insects)
Order: Diptera (flies, sometimes true flies)
    di = two and ptera = wings (singular is pteron)
    The name refers to the fact that flies have only two wings.
Family: Tipulidae (crane flies)
Species: undetermined
Common Name: crane fly (general)
Date: 2001 June 8
Place: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
    on the wall at Frijole Ranch - shade seeking insects

Crane flies have slender bodies and rather long thin legs. People sometimes call them "giant mosquitoes" thinking they bite or "mosquito hawks" thinking that they prey on mosquitoes. Crane flies neither bite nor prey on mosquitoes. They are relatively poor fliers who rest in shady places. The thread-like structure with a knob on the end seen just below each wing in the picture (the left one is superimposed on a leg) is a balancing organ. All flies have them.

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Note: This is a personal web site and is not affiliated with the National Park Service or Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Contact information for the author, Ron Lyons, is accessible through the Index Page referenced below. Thank you.