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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Nematocera" (Non-Brachycera) » Tipulomorpha » Crane Flies (Tipulidae)
Photo#127756
Copyright © 2007 HandsOff

"Mosquito Hawk" is a Crane Fly, Santa Clara County, CA. - Male
Sunnyvale, Santa Clara County, California, USA
July 15, 2007
It appears to be eating some kind of insect...(Guess not!)

Here is a link to a similar looking, female crane fly that I would not be surprised to find out is a member of the same species:


Images of this individual: tag all
Mosquito Hawk, Santa Clara County, CA. - male Mosquito Hawk, Santa Clara County, CA. Mosquito Hawk, Santa Clara County, CA.
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Contributed by HandsOff on 16 July, 2007 - 7:08pm
Last updated 22 August, 2007 - 4:55am

Nope...
it ain't eating anything. This is a Crane Fly, family Tipulidae. Most species are non-feeding as adults. What you thought may have been an insect is actually the fly's elongated rostrum, which has long palps. You can clearly see this feature in this image:
By the way, this is a male, as the blunt abdomen suggests (female have pointed abdomens).
Chen Young, our crane fly expert, will be able to tell you more about what species this is.
… Stephen Luk, 16 July, 2007 - 7:21pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks for the info, Stephen
It seems likely that I was wrong about its eating activities. I thought I saw a pair eyes on what I thought was it's meal, but I guess not!

The common lore is that these prey on mosquitoes, so this new information came as a surprise!
… HandsOff, 17 July, 2007 - 6:12pm login or register to post comments

 
Here is a link to a female crane fly found in the same ..
...area a few days later. There appear to be similarities, maybe they are the same species.
… HandsOff, 29 July, 2007 - 3:08am login or register to post comments

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