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Home » Forums » General Discussion

Tipulid dances

Disclaimer: this post is about insects outside of North America.

Recently I've noted large numbers of crane flies buzzing around in spider webs in NSW, Australia. Apparently they only "fake" being caught, because when touched, they free themselves and fly away. Upon further reading I've discovered that some species of Tipulidae "take shelter" in spider webs. Quite remarkable! One web had two spiders among dozens of crane flies. It was actually difficult to find a single spider web among the rocks which wasn't being used as a Tipulid shelter. The video clips below are half normal speed - they buzz around very rapidly when disturbed. I'm not sure I've seen this behavior in any crane flies of North America.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap8q4Px4hGw
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Contributed by Vespula Vulgaris on 26 January, 2022 - 2:30am

I've seen something very simi
I've seen something very similar in Limoniid crane flies. I saw many hanging in the web of a therediid, and the spider didn't react to them even when they bumped into the web while flying. They didn't stick to the web at all, and the ones in the web appeared to be resting.
Edit- I just watched the video, the crane flies I saw also bounced in the web like yours, it's quite typical of Limoniids. Perhaps it functions the same way as the web-shaking of Pholcus?
… Hexapoda, 26 January, 2022 - 5:49pm login or register to post comments

 
Interesting
Perhaps they are in Limoniidae after all! My fly ID skills are a bit rusty :-) The spiders seem to either not register the movements as prey (their own web-shaking behavior as you mention) or have a sensory overload and just don't react. Although the benefit of forming these conspicuous aggregations in spider webs is still unclear to me, as this would seem to attract the attention of overly curious avian predators, and presumably some others.
… Vespula Vulgaris, 27 January, 2022 - 5:26am login or register to post comments

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