Not a Giant Mosquito! Meeting the Harmless Crane Fly!
#intothewildwithrufus #birding
I spotted this lovely Crane Fly today right inside the room in which I was housed.
The Crane Fly is known for its unique white-tipped legs. Also, unlike their little sisters – the mosquitoes – these ‘giant mosquitoes’ are completely harmless and they do not bite or sting as well!
One striking feature of this Crane Fly is that, adult crane flies have a fleeting lifespan of just 10 to 15 days, which is dedicated entirely to reproduction. Almost similar to the beautiful moon moth we’d discussed last week in our blog, many of the crane fly species have drastically reduced mouthparts and do not feed at all during their adult stage, relying strictly on the energy reserves they built up as larvae.
Crane flies are not endemic to India. They are a globally distributed superfamily comprising over 15,000 recognised species. While India is home to a rich diversity of roughly 1,475 documented species.
Although they are rare to be found in the city and other urban areas, they are incredibly common in rich, forested environments with a high degree of moisture.
No comments:
Post a Comment