For more information on the habitat and vegetation of the Union Bay Natural area, please see the journal entry for April 12, 2012 in my written journal and, for information on the weather of the day this was found, please see the journal entry for April 18, 2012 (Union Bay Natural Area) here on iNaturalist. This giant crane fly, which is native to the western United States, was about an inch long and happened to land on a strand of prairie grass as I walked by. It had filmy wings about as long as its body and had six long, spindly legs. They are commonly known as mosquito eaters, though they don't actually eat mosquitoes. When they are larvae, they may eat mosquito larvae, but as adults, crane flies only eat nectar or nothing at all as the adults pretty much exist to mate and then die. They are completely harmless to humans and animals, but their larvae are considered pests in some areas because they consume roots of plants like turf grass.
|Photos or sounds?||Yes|
|Is the organism wild/naturalized?||Unknown|
|Does the location seem accurate?||Unknown|
|Does the date seem accurate?||Unknown|
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