Talk:Crane fly/Archive 1

message: why is it that daddy long legs only come out in September?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.17.151.154 (talk • contribs) 23:16, September 22, 2006
:because everyone keeps going on about my birthday so they come to ruin it. ugh—Preceding unsigned comment added by Marge4 (talk • contribs) 15:23, September 22, 2006
::Someone please answer this. Why do they only come out in September? And why moths in August?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.20.37.33 (talk • contribs) 17:30, September 26, 2006
:::what, the moths were attacking me since June. Marge4 00:43, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  why September? 

message: Can anyone tell me how to get rid of the crane fly?  I am infested with them.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.108.119.179 (talk • contribs) 08:03, October 9, 2006
:maybe someone could, if you signed your comments KevinCarmody 17:47, 9 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: keep all windows and doors shut. if one still manages to get in, you can with a sheet of cardboard waft at them, they lose all aerodynamics and fall to the ground and spend a few seconds dazed adn confused. this is when you stamp on them. this works i have killed many a doizabizzler this way, and they don't come into my room anymore so i must've scared them off! Marge4 01:30, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: crane fly

message: "Unlike mosquitoes, crane flies are weak and poor fliers", surely this is in error? Mosquitoes are also poor fliers - in some cases simply blowing at them can be enough to knock them out of the air.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.96.112.148 (talk • contribs) 16:28, September 27, 2005
:Have you ever seen a crane fly? It's a wonder they still exist. They can just barely move. It's silly to even compare their ability to fly to the ability of a mosquito -- they're that much worse.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.216.194.53 (talk • contribs) 00:37, October 1, 2006
::changed it.  it now says "unlike other flies."  it previously contradicted the other article.  mosquitoes can't fly straight around a fan.  that's pretty bad.Youdontsmellbad (talk) 10:42, 29 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Poor fliers

message: I deleted the following as being problematic:
"The family is also one of three unrelated arthropods sometimes called Daddy long-legs; the other two are the harvestmen and vibrating, cellar or house spider. As such, crane flies are wrapped up in the myth of being the most poisonous spider, but unable to bite humans. This is incorrect: they are clearly insects rather than spiders, as they possess only six legs rather than the arachnid eight, have wings, and do not bite humans. They drink only water when young and do not usually feed at all when they are adult, as they only live for a few days to mate."
The point about it not being a spider is over-laboured and not really necessary to begin with, and discussion of a total (and to my knowledge not particularly prevalent) myth doesn't belong in an opening paragraph. The statement about its lifespan contradicts another part of the article, which gives a lifespan of a minimum of 6 weeks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kisch (talk • contribs) 16:52, April 12, 2006
:I reckon it should be in there because it is quite a prevalent myth, it could go in a bit later though. And delete the bit about the lifespan.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.130.156.129 (talk • contribs) 14:11, May 15, 2006
::But isn't the myth about other species that are also called Daddy Long-Legs, rather than Crane Flies? I don't think anyone in their right mind would mistake a crane fly for a spider!—Preceding unsigned comment added by Kisch (talk • contribs) 22:18, May 16, 2006 
:::this myth is for the other daddy long legs. that just doesn't make sense.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.124.237.127 (talk • contribs) 02:09, August 14, 2006
::::In some regions of the UK large spiders are known as "Daddy Long Legs", and in others this only applies to the cranefly. Hence the confusion.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.141.110.233 (talk • contribs) 19:13, August 16, 2006
:::In Ricky Gervais' stand up act "Animals" he does a whole bit about the poison myth, clearly referring to the insect rather than the spider. He's a smart guy so he probably knows it's bullshit, but it is an example of general media ascribing the poison myth to crane flies. --86.138.29.64 (talk) 17:04, 19 June 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Confused opening paragraph 

message: Before I edited the page, it stated that the life cycles are from 6 weeks to 4 years.  However, I have found information about these cycles being as much as 6 years (http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/aocat/tipulidae.html), but I have been unable to find information about species with 6 week cycles.  I will continue to look for sources and update information as I have time. - Raztus 05:27, 3 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Facts about life cycles 

message: "Adult crane flies feed on nectar or not at all"
Do they really eat nothing?  That doesn't seem right...—Preceding unsigned comment added by Brian1711 (talk • contribs) 19:00, June 8, 2006
:it's true. they eat nothing and live only to mate, and usually die in around three days.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.124.237.127 (talk • contribs) 02:07, August 14, 2006
::Are you sure they only live for three days? I thought they lived for a week at least? --Gerrado 16:54, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: They have mouth parts and occasionally drink moisture or nectar from plants and flowers so it is not true that they do not eat.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.141.98.6 (talk • contribs) 19:07, September 24, 2006
The Adults often don't eat. Most of their lifespan is spent as larvae underground (or in water). Once adults, they only live long enough to breed. then they die. Many insects do this, including the cicada, stone fly, and may fly. Butterflies and the like are exceptions in that they live for a significant period after they metamorphose. Sidenote; what are the grasping mouthparts for? Before finding out that Mosquito Hawks (Crane Flies) don't eat Mosquitos, I hypothesized that they used them to grab mosquitos while mouth parts ate them. Since this isn't true, I'm curious as to what purpose they serve. They can't be used in mating either, for Crane Flies mate end-to-end, facing away from each other. I saw an example of this yesterday, they were there for almost 2 days. Then someone disturbed them; oddly, they didn't detach, and thus flew very clumsily as both insects were flapping their wings.--75.48.35.215 (talk) 14:54, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

text: Just a reminder that this page is for discussing changes and improvements to the article and isn't for a general discussion of the topic. If you can back up any of the above info with citations to reliable sources, and it's missing from the article, please do include it there! Katr67 (talk) 19:04, 6 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Do they eat?

message: Hello, good morning. I heard from the playground that daddy long legs, or craneflys have the most poisonous venom known to man, but their teeth can't penetrate skin. It's probably false, but it'd be nice if someone could clarify it.
K thx bye. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.255.83.8 (talk • contribs) 21:26, September 18, 2006 
:there actually is a creature like that but i don't think its the doizabizzler. maybe it is. i don't know. they're bloody crap anyway Marge4 23:24, 22 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: this myth is usually in regard to daddy long leg SPIDERS, and/or harvestmen, I've never heard it concerning crane flies. It is untrue on all accounts.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.216.194.53 (talk • contribs) 00:36, September 31, 2006
In the UK at least the myth concerns daddy-long-legs (Crane flies) not the spiders.  it was expertly satirised in the Ricky Gervais: (
Animals (comedy) show, hysterical.  --Brideshead 19:57, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

text: this information is bogus, ricky gervais is stupid. also it was on QI about there being an insect with the most poisonous venom but it has no way of using it, it's just like.. stored in a sack for no reason. wee. --Catbeef 17:16, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

text: That's interesting that both the Crane Fly and Daddy Long legs mite have similar myths. In the case of the mite (yes, its a mite; spiders have a different body segmentation), they are poisonous, but its a very mild venom, and their mouthparts are too small to penetrate the skin.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.48.35.215 (talk) 15:01, 6 June 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Hi, again, watch the chat. Thanks! Katr67 (talk) 19:08, 6 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Myths

message: I am removing all the additional names for which I cannot find sources. I have no doubt that a couple of those are real nicknames, but we have no proof. Several Google hits reveal lists of names most likely derived from this article. So please discuss any names you might wish to add here, keeping in mind that Wikipedia information needs to be cited and that original research does not count. For example, "gallinipper" is defined in Merriam-Webster, and that's what we mean by a reliable source. Thanks! Katr67 23:04, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Additional name removal

message: When are crane flies most prevalent and what is the gestation periods from lavae to fly? —Preceding unsigned comment added by JESSICA6 (talk • contribs) 11:40, March 4, 2007
:Crane flies can be found throughout the summer (look especially in moist places or on the shady (cool) side of concrete walls or building foundations), though I would assume that like many other insects, there are seasonal differences between species, in that some species are present in the spring while others are fall species. As for the duration of life cycle - don't know. Jhml 18:20, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Moved this question from the main page 

message: I have restructured the crane fly article to better make use of headings to divide the information in to useful blocks. Please note that none of the information has been changed/removed, it has simply been reorganized and in a few cases presented in a manner that I think is more reader-friendly. I also wanted to comment on the intro as it is now: typically, info included in the intro should appear in the body of the article as well, which I have done with all but the alternate names, which I believe should remain at the article's beginning so that those using "regional names" for the crane fly can quickly identify the subject. Thanks for your patience with my multiple mini-edits, but I see things to change as I read the article over (and over and over). Jhml 19:05, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Comment on my article restructuring

message: Re: crane flies eating mosquitos? They do! 
Of course, this is just anecdotal, but ONCE I came upon a landed crane fly and it was feeding on a mosquito. 
Didn't see the capture, but the scene was my sink, and perhaps like the African watering hole dramas, the prey was attracted to water (mosquito trademark!) then Wham!
Anyway, in the interest of accuracy or as an idea for a science experiment.
72.198.53.222 06:12, 29 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Newbie's Quibble!

message: The following content from User:71.188.243.5 moved from article page (by —Preceding unsigned comment added by EdC (talk • contribs) 21:38, August 4, 2007:
:(I am no entomologist, and realize that this is not a proper ammendation to Wikipedia, but in the interest of pure reality,and invoking my authority as a lifelong resident from a NW pioneer family, I assert that Crane Flies were unknown in the USA's Pacific Northwest until the mid 1970's. When first occuring they were considered "large " upon achieving a body length of 4 cm. Every succeeding year most have been larger. During the summer of 2006 I found two, in a suburban/rural area 20 miles north of Seattle, that exceeded 10 cm in body length! [To avoid ridicule I choose not to provide actual measurements] If anyone could explain this mechanism of increasing size I would be extremely interested. Also, I suspect that these insects may be approaching some sort of upper size limit. They arrive every summer in a variety of lengths;body lengths of up to 7 cm being common, but the larger, "aircraft carriers" [exceeding 7 cm] do not spend a lot of time flying, unlike their smaller brethren [thank God!]. The climate would seem to be ideal for them here, and natural enemies apparently few.)
::Hi, are you the editor who contacted me on the talk page? Hopefully you've noticed that the talk page is the proper place to conduct discussions such as this. Anyway, despite your somewhat snarky comments about being able to make fun of Wikipedia by leaving the supposedly inaccurate information in the article, I've been doing some research. I'm not an expert on insects either, but I'm thinking that they are measured according to the length of their body. Certainly the wingspan and legspan will be much greater. Now I see above that you are claiming a body length that is much greater than what is stated in the article. The 1.5 inch figure is not cited either, but I suspect that this is an "average" figure. This site cites a length of 1-1 3/8:
::*http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?curFamilyID=427&curGroupID=4&lgfromWhere=&curPageNum=1
::Realize that I'm not calling you a liar, but unless we can find a citation for the increased length, it can't be in the encyclopedia. If we allowed original research, the articles would be rife with anecdotes, urban legends, myths and inaccuracies, and you would be justified in really making fun of the project. I can't believe nobody has studied the phenomenon of the the ever-increasing size of Puget Sound crane flies. There is probably a grant to be had for some grad student to do so. Are we sure we're talking about Holorusia rubiginosa (aka Holorusia grandis)? Or is it another species? Here is a great site about identifying insects, they might have some answers for you. Warning: Not for the squeamish. I need to work on some other stuff right now, but hopefully we can get to the bottom of this. Katr67 (talk) 16:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pacific Northwest 

message: This article implies (though it doesn't state in so many words) that no crane flies sting; at least one other source does state it explicitly.  But I have personally been stung by something that certainly looked like a crane fly, and since then I've examined crane flies and in two or three cases they definitely had a stinger probing from their abdomens.
I mentioned this in Norton's Patrick-O'Brian forum and one other person gave the same testimony.  As I write this, the thread can be read here, but it'll fall off the edge in another week or two and that forum's archive doesn't work properly so I'll reproduce part of it:
On Tue Sep 23, Bob Bridges wrote
--------------------------------
Growing up in Minnesota I was of course familiar with mosquitoes.  We also had something that looked exactly like a giant mosquito, two or even three cm long, and considering how annoying a mosquito could be I always found these monstrous versions pretty frightening.
By the time I was a teenager I'd given up being frightened, perhaps because I had never seen one of these giant mosquitoes accost anyone.  (In fact, Wikipedia says "Adult crane flies feed on nectar or they do not feed at all; once they become adults, most crane fly species live only to mate and die."  But I didn't know that then.)  It was only later, living in Pennsylvania, that I discovered something else about them.  I pointed one out to my dad, who told me it was called a "crane fly".  When I caught it in my hand he said "be careful; it'll sting you".  I knew my dad's brand of humor and smirked knowingly, but only a second or two later howled with sudden pain and flung open my hand; on this occasion my father had been perfectly serious....
But here's the puzzle:  Wikipedia doesn't mention any crane fly's ability to sting and does say "The female abdomen also ends in a pointed ovipositor that may look somewhat like a stinger but is in fact completely harmless."  Another link referred to crane flies as "non-stinging".  Yet my tale of being stung by one of these things is first-hand and the pain of the sting was definite; I'm not seriously open to reinterpretation ("oh, you just heard your dad say it so you felt it, a psychosomatic occurrence").  Furthermore I caught a few since then and satisfied myself that there was a true stinger on some that I examined.  On the other hand, perhaps someone can point to some stinging insect that resembles a crane fly both in morphology and flight pattern.  Anyone?
On Wed Oct 8, Teresa wrote
--------------------------
I, too, have just been stung by what appearred to be a crane fly, and it is quite a potent sting!  I have grown up calling these insects "mosquito hawks" and have always believed them to be completely harmless--thus the reason I clasped it up in my hand to safely put it out of my kitchen.
Like you, I decided to research it a bit after being surprised by being stung.  I have caught many of these insects over the years in order to remove them from the house, but this is the first time I have been stung.
This was quite large-bodied, the body itself being about an inch long and 1/8 - 1/4 inch wide.  It had that typical redish-brown color tone.  Perhaps there are different types--some of which DO STING!
I don't know about you though, but I will trap them in a glass from now on instead of catching them in my fist, because my finger is stinging and swelling even still!
"Teresa" is a pseudonym and she has not yet responded to my invitation to email me with further details (location, for starters).  But unless there's something out there that looks like a Diptera and isn't,  it seems clear that the conventional wisdom is wrong that assures us crane flies never sting.
Yet up 'til now my contributions to Wikipedia have been mostly in the proof-reading line, making sentence clearer or more neutral in content rather than adding new observations or contradicting old ones, and I'm not sure how or even whether to incorporate what is after all anecdotal evidence, even though first-hand.  Yet I'm also loathe to leave false or misleading Wiki information unchallenged.  Has anyone beside me been able to find a contradictory reference somewhere that can be cited in the article, perhaps?
--RHBridges (talk) 17:02, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Some crane flies do sting 

message: Actually, in New Zealand we do call them crane flies. Daddy long legs is a type of spider. But, is this just in my region? The article says 'New Zealand'. Does it mean the whole of New Zealand or just part? - 7:25 p.m. 9 June 2009  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.153.53.129 (talk) 07:26, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't know if this refers to all of New Zealand or not, but in any location, we are talking about nicknames by which they may be called. They can certainly also be referred to as crane flies in all those places as well. Katr67 (talk) 21:24, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Factual Mistake

message: I've never personally seen them eat mosquito's or anything but the article on mosquito's notes 'Males live for about a week, feeding on nectar and other sources of sugar.' Is it possible that Crane fly's eat partially digested nectar from a dead mosquito if they come across one? Or perhaps the actual body is coated in nectar from the process of eating it, I just think if this is true and a reliable source can be found it should be included. CheckSumFail (talk) 08:48, 29 June 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Myth

message: === Gallery ===
Image:Crane-Fly.jpg |Species Name??
G'day I'd like a few more pics. How about a gallery?
BTW these may not be crane flies!!! Ooops Anyone know? Nnoddy (talk) 04:56, 17 June 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Add Gallery 

message: Image:Crane-Fly.jpg |Species Name??
G'day I'd like a few more pics. How about a gallery?
BTW these may not be crane flies!!! Ooops Anyone know? Nnoddy (talk) 04:56, 17 June 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Gallery 

message: Opening paragraph states that the crane-fly is known as "daddy long legs" in the UK. This is only true for England and Wales. In Scotland is is know as the "Jenny Long Legs", "Daddy" being reserved for Pholcus phalangioides.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.169.196.82 (talk) 18:48, 5 January 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: UK != England

message: G'day. I accidentally imported this specimen from Hong Kong along with some aquarium plants. As WP/WM did not have any pictures of aquatic larvae yet, I donated it and hereby offer it to you if you want to incorporate it in your article. Even if it's not the very best of pictures, I believe it's "good enough" for article purposes. (I don't dare to edit the article, as it's way outside of my area of expertise.) I would, however, very much like it identified, can anyone confirm this is a tipula larva, and possibly the exact species? --Takimata (talk) 23:36, 31 July 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Aquatic tipula larva 

message: They are referred to as "Dandy Longlegs" in Newfoundland.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Missmu (talk • contribs) 00:14, 1 September 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  They are referred to as "Dandy Longlegs" in Newfoundland.