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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Nematocera" (Non-Brachycera) » Crane Flies (Tipulomorpha) » Winter Crane Flies (Trichoceridae)

Family Trichoceridae - Winter Crane Flies

Winter Cranefly? - Trichocera Midge ? - Trichocera Winter Crane fly? - Trichocera Winter crane fly? - Trichocera Trichocera bimacula ? - Trichocera Trichocera ? - Trichocera Winter Crane Fly - Trichocera - female fly - Trichocera - male
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Nematocera" (Non-Brachycera))
Infraorder Tipulomorpha (Crane Flies)
Family Trichoceridae (Winter Crane Flies)
Other Common Names
Winter Midges/Gnats
Explanation of Names
Trichoceridae Rondani 1841
Numbers
28 spp. in 3 genera in our area (all but 3 spp. are in the genus Trichocera)(1); >180 spp. in 15 genera total(2)
Identification
Often confused for true crane flies (Tipulidae) or mosquitoes (Culicidae), Trichoceridae can be distinguished by the presence of ocelli.
Wing venation:

key to NA spp. in(1)
Range
globally, confined to temperate and cool climates(3)
Habitat
Larvae in moist/wet terrestrial biotopes: decaying leaves, manure, fungi, stored roots/tubers, and rodent burrows(3)
Season
Tend to fly when cool, spring and fall, or even winter in warmer climates(3)
Food
Larvae are scavengers(3)
Life Cycle
Larvae scavenge in decaying vegetation, etc.
Remarks
Paracladura has a short m-cu crossvein between the discal cell and the forward branch of Cu. The other genera have the forward branch of Cu meeting the corner of the discal cell.
Diazosma has A2 long and sinous. The other genera have A2 short and curved.
See Also
Tipulidae, Culicidae
Print References
Alexander, C. P. 1966. The Diptera or true flies of Connecticut. Part VI. First Fascicle. Connecticut State Geological and Natural History Survey, Bulletin 64: 1-509. (PDF)
Internet References
The Bug Lady - UW Milwaukee
The Backyard Arthropod Project
Works Cited
1.The winter crane flies of North America north of Mexico (Diptera: Trichoceridae)
Pratt H.D. 2003. Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 105: 901-914.
2.Order Diptera Linnaeus, 1758. In: Zhang Z.-Q. (ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification...
Pape T., Blagoderov V., Mostovski M.B. 2011. Zootaxa 3148: 222–229.
3.Evenhuis N.L. (ed.) Catalog of the Diptera of the Australasian and Oceanian regions (online version)
Contributed by Richard Leung on 9 November, 2004 - 8:23pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, xylo, Vox Sciurorum, v belov, marcie oconnor, Arturo Santos
Last updated 29 November, 2023 - 10:09am

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