Giant crane fly
Tipula abdominalis
The giant crane fly is a big crane fly with a long thin body and very long, wobbly legs. It looks like a huge mosquito, but it is completely harmless. Its babies grow up in water.
Lives in
North America, near streams and rivers
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its larva lives in streams and eats fallen leaves, with the help of tiny helpers in its gut.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Giant crane fly about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its larva lives in the water along the edges of streams and rivers.
2
Tiny microbes in the larva's gut help it break down the leaves it eats.
3
It is one of the largest crane flies.
you asked
Most asked questions about Giant crane fly
?Do giant crane flies bite?
No. They look like big mosquitoes, but they cannot bite or sting.
?What does the giant crane fly larva eat?
Fallen leaves in the water.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Tipula abdominalis
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Tipulidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Tipulidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Tipula abdominalis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Chris McAnlis. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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