National Insect Week returns in 2022
(Nephrotoma flavescens)
True flies
Adult Tiger crane flies have bodies of around 18 mm long. They have a yellow and black thorax, their yellow abdomen has a thin black stripe down the centre. Males have square-ended abdomens, but females have a pointed ovipositor for laying eggs.
You can find Tiger crane flies in hedgerows and grassy places.
Adult Tiger crane flies fly in Spring and Summer.
Adults crane flies live for only a few days in Spring and Summer months. Males and females will fly at night and mate, and females then lay eggs in soil.
Larvae hatch and feed on plant roots, they overwinter and then feed again in early Spring, before pupating and emerging as adults.
Adults Tiger crane flies feed on nectar and pollen from flowers such as Hogweed.
Crane flies can lose their legs very easily, as a way of escaping predators.
Tiger crane flies occur throughout Europe, North Africa and Asia.
Insects breathe through spiracles, abdominal openings to air spaces within the insect body.
Tweet this or follow @insectweek