Skip to content

Mosquito Hawk? Skeeter Eater? Giant Mosquito? No, No, and No

By Leslie Mertz

That inch-long, gangly-legged insect that sneaks into your house and bounces around the walls and ceiling is a crane fly, and despite rumors to the contrary, it is neither a predator of mosquitoes nor a colossal mosquito. And it’s harmless.

Although the Internet abounds with reports of adult crane flies biting or stinging, they do neither.

“There has yet to be found a predatory adult crane fly,” said Matthew Bertone, PhD, a crane fly specialist and extension associate with the North Carolina State University Department of Entomology. “They just don’t have the mouthparts for it. So no, none are blood-feeding, and none of them attack people.”

In fact, many of the adult crane flies eat very little, if at all, according to Jon Gelhaus, PhD, a fellow crane fly specialist and curator in the Department of Entomology at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.

“Some can sponge up liquids, such as dew and honey water, but we don’t see them do that much,” he said. “A number of them have independently evolved long mouthparts, and they’ll visit flowers to take up nectar.”

The slight diet is fine because adult crane flies typically live just a matter of days. Crane flies spend most of their time as larvae living underwater in streams, the edges of ponds, within wet logs, or in other damp places, and then they emerge as adults for a quick mating spree before dying.

The 15,000 or so known true crane flies in the family Tipulidae also share a somewhat similar appearance to mosquitoes. They have a narrow body with two long and slender wings, as well as six stilt-like legs that can be twice as long as the body. Crane flies are diverse in wing pattern, color, and size.

“The smallest crane fly in the world could probably stand on the head of the biggest crane fly in the world,” Bertone said. The tiniest ones have bodies that are mere millimeters in length, while the largest can be more than two inches long with leg spans topping 10 inches. The big differences between species, however, are found among the larvae.

“There are lots of crazy morphologies there,” said Bertone. “Some of them have inflatable rear ends that they use to move through soil more easily, some have fringed setae on the end to break the water tension, and some have these weird creeping structures, sort of like caterpillar prolegs with hooks on them, so it’s extremely variable. We don’t know much about the larvae. In fact, for many species, we have never seen the larvae.”

Although scientists have a greater understanding of adults — thanks in great part to the work of U.S. entomologist Charles Paul Alexander (1889- 1981), who described a whopping 11,000 crane fly species during his illustrious career — a multitude of questions remain. For example, according to Bertone, “Most of the crane flies have big eyes, but we don’t know how good their vision is and how much that’s used to sense where they’re going. The males in some of the groups have antennae with really elongate segments compared to females, but we don’t know what the purpose of that is.”

Scientists are also uncertain about courtship and communication. Some crane fly species engage in all-male swarms that apparently attract females, Gelhaus said. The males of other species will simply flit around their habitat with their forelegs outstretched, presumably using a contact pheromone to seek out females.

Other behaviors are also ripe for study. For instance, Gelhaus has seen both males and females of several tropical species aggregate together in dark areas.

“Whole groups of individuals will all be flying around together, sometimes bouncing at a constant level,” he said. “If you disturb them, they will fly away, but then in a little while they will re-aggregate back into those areas. We really don’t know what they’re doing in those situations.”

Gelhaus has also seen members of another tropical species in Peru that sandwich themselves between the surface of a stream and a suspended spider web.

“They seem to be hanging upside-down from the spider web, holding onto the threads of the web without being caught in it,” he said. “Behaviorally, I’d say crane flies aren’t super complex in comparison to even some other fly families, but there are a lot of these adaptations — including mimicry of ichneumonid wasps and other things — that really need study and will take somebody spending some time in the field and observing to figure out.”

Scientists are also still sorting out the evolutionary tree, particularly whether the large Tipulidae family should be split into several different families. Bertone was part of a research group that used morphology and genetics to try to sort it out. They concluded that the bulk of the species had more in common than not and should remain in the Tipulidae family, while just one smaller family of hairy-eyed crane flies (Pediciidae) should be separated out as a sister group.

Gelhaus appreciates their assiduous tone.

“Instead of splitting up Tipulidae all kinds of ways, which later evidence might not have supported, they said that the weight of the evidence conservatively supports two basic lineages, and I thought this was a pretty good way of approaching it,” he said. “I expect there’ll be some changes as we move along, and as more and more data is put to it, but that’s just part of the nature of classification and the taxonomy. It has to evolve along with our knowledge.”

There are other crane flies that fall outside the Tipulidae and Pediciidae families, but they are not as closely related. These include the phantom crane flies, winter crane flies, and primitive crane flies (Ptychopteridae, Trichoceridae, and Tanyderidae, respectively). The best known of these is the phantom crane fly Bittacomorpha clavipes, a large insect that flies with its inflated tarsi (“feet”) helping to float its long, black-and-white legs in the air.

“Phantom crane flies are one of my favorites,” Bertone said. “They’re really pretty and I just like the way they fly.”

Even the true crane flies alone, however, are deceptively diverse.

“They have weird behaviors and weird morphologies,” Bertone said. “I’m always seeing photos of new ones, and it just blows my mind how they look or how they have all these crazy modifications. There are strange, wingless, spider-like snow crane flies that are thought to live in animal burrows and crawl underneath the snow; there are small, hairy ones; there are larger ones; there are lots of them that suck nectar — it’s a really diverse and pretty amazing group.”

Gelhaus agrees. He took a rather serendipitous path to his study of crane flies, with an internship at the California Academy of Sciences that just so happened to involve these insects, and he has enjoyed every minute.

“I’ve never regretted it,” he said. “It’s a very interesting group for me, and it’s taken me all over the world. Crane flies were definitely the right choice.”

Read more at:

“Phylogenetic synthesis of morphological and molecular data reveals new insights into the higher-level classification of Tipuloidea (Diptera)” by Matthew J. Petersen, Matthew A. Bertone, Brian M. Wiegmann, and Gregory W. Courtney in Systematic Entomology, Volume 35, Issue 3, pages 526–545, July 2010.


Leslie Mertz

Leslie Mertz

Leslie Mertz, PhD, teaches summer field-biology courses, writes about science, and runs an educational insect-identification website, www.knowyourinsects.org. She resides in northern Michigan.

115 Comments »

  1. Have noticed crane flies here in Humboldt Co., Ca. regularly seem to enjoy hanging from spider webs without being caught,for no discernible reason… also these local species have a strange extra pair of back pointing antenna near the back of the head that stick out BACKWARDS at an angle and have a “ball” on the END (!). Has anyone else seem these structures, know what they’re called or what they’re used for? These ones around here I have also observed drinking water droplets, and have even hand-fed a few friendly ones water-droplets, which is amusing as well as endearing.

    • the backwards pointing “antannae” are called halteres. They don’t come out of the head, but the thorax behind the wings. All flies have these in some form or another but they are most noticeable on crane flies. Instead of having two pairs of wings, the back pair evolved into halteres to help with flight stabilization and orientation.

    • Always taught and thought to my son that they were mosquito hawks so I have always let them be.. ok so they are useless for that… and I see they are harmless … do they pose any disease/bacteria/etc.. threat? its cool that Mr Thompson hand feeds them. Every living thing is awesome!

      • I grew up calling them mosquito hawks and will continue to do so. Common names for the same organism can and often do vary from location to location, and two completely unrelated organisms may share the same common name. It’s the common usage of a common name that makes it “correct”, and I think enough of us call crane flies “mosquito hawks” to make it legitimate to do so.

    • The ones with the antenna coming out of their butt are not Crane Flies. They are May Flies. A totally different fly. Crane flies do not have those.

  2. They are, in fact , Halteres. They are “club-like” extensions derived from wings. They function as a sort of flight balance sensor/regulator. There are two groups which have Halteres. The Strepsiptera and the Diptera. The former have Halteres derived from their front pair of wings and the latter developed theirs from the hind pair of wings.

  3. We have SO MANY of them here during late March in Gridley! I try to scoop them up and let them outside, but they always want to come back in for some reason. If they only live for a few days, my house must be a haven for generations of these things…

      • I live in Sacramento and they start coming out in March and through April/May. We have masses of them that keep coming into our home as well. My son, just turned 8, is fascinated by insects including these guys. I wanted to bring some in for a preschool show and tell for my youngest and asked for his help. I was getting ready to put one in a jar and he told me with certainty I was getting a female. I asked how he knew and he said because he dissected some in the backyard and discovered that the ones with “pointy butts” are females and the ones with “squared off butts” are males. He went on to add that the females lay little black eggs around or on wood and that there are always more males than females. I opened the shutters in the bathroom and found several trapped in there. After doing a count, ten were male and two were female.

        We went on to put a male in the jar and after rushing to get out the door for school that day forgot the crane flies. When we arrived home we discovered that the female had laid some eggs. Later that day my oldest was building with his Legos on our wool rug when we noticed a crane fly with it’s “butt” stuck in the carpet. My oldest said that it’s a female laying eggs. I piked it out and sure enough, she had laid some little black eggs in the carpet!

        My son has opened a whole new world to me–one that I would otherwise be too busy to explore.

  4. Interesting article, but I was wondering what a bunch of those crane flies were doing in my back yard. They looked like they were digging up dirt, maybe dropping their eggs? I read that they lay their eggs in lawns but this was taking place between the fence and cemented yard, and there is very little grass. Have video.

  5. What a great article!, not only beautifully written, but also extremely informative. For the last few years my daughter’s and I thought these were mosquitoes, they’d freak out and come get me or their dad to take care of it. He’d continually tell us they’re mosquito hawks and arnt dangerous, but the girls wouldn’t buy it. I believe him though. We get them flying around the kitchen and just staying on the wall. They’d be there for hours, anyway thank you for your explanation it was very helpful.

  6. We have noticed a lot more of these insects flying around in our yard in Concord, especially compared to previous years. They drive our cats nuts! I agree with another poster above, I tried to usher one out of my house today, and it wanted to stay in.

    • Small world! I too live in concord and I have been seeing so many of these flies at home and around town that I had to look up some info on them, I’m glad I’m not the only one that noticed how abundant they are suddenly. They bug my cat and dog too. I often see them doing something that looks like laying eggs in holes they dig in the dirt as well as hanging in spider webs. Good info/article

  7. My name is Barrett and I’m 10 years old. How do craneflies survive without eating as adults? Do craneflies have nests?

    • Hello Barrett,

      Sorry to see this comment so late. Hope this reply reaches you still.

      Crane flies, as many insects with larvae, build up a lot of fat and nutrients when they are young. That means when they become adults they may not need to feed. This is also helped by the fact that the adults do not generally live long.

      As far as crane flies having nests, there are no truly social flies so they do not live with each other. However, you can often find them flying together in groups around spots where the larvae live so they can get together to mate and lay eggs.

      Hope that answers your questions!

      – Matt

  8. Well one flew in my shirt and I smashed it my shirt and it stung me/bite me and left red marks. So either the mosquito eaters here hate me or they have twins!

    • Are you an idiot? Or did you just not read the article? They cannot bite and they don’t eat mosquitoes.

    • May have been another species, which may or not be related, with a red tail, that I grew up calling a “hot tail”. Anyone else?🤷‍♀️

  9. Thanks for the information. I use to think Crain Flies are just bigger male mosquitos and they kind of acted like the prey mantis. I have a fear of un-known bugs I’m not afraid of bugs but if I don’t know about them I get nervous. I actually have a Crane Fly right on the couch next to me sitting on a pillow. Thanks for the information again our place is filled with these little-big guys.

  10. we have them too, my wife and I found tubes of built up dirt in our front yard, 3/8″ wide 3″-4″ high, obviously made by an insect, ever seen this?

    • Randy, those sound like termite mud tubes. You can break one open with a screwdriver or stick and see if termites come running out. If so, you should might want to call a pest management professional.

    • Those tiny “mole hills” running over the ground are from a “Mole Cricket” that tunnel all over your yard leaving those raised lines wandering all over. Weird lookjng but harmless!

  11. They are everywhere in the Stockton area as well. They drive my cat buggy because she wants to catch them and EAT them! Is it safe for her to eat these things? It is really hard to stop her from doing it but I will if they are not safe for her to eat. Thanks for the informative article!!

    • Totally safe for her to eat them–so encourage her to do so, because if she doesn’t they’ll just get outside, lay eggs, and make more next year!

  12. Thanks a lot of the report but whoever doesn’t know that they are innocous is not only paranoid but also really ignorant lol they’re not a new thing they’ve been around for decades

  13. Lol good to know. My mother is deathly afraid of them but its good to know theyre harmless…I hope that keeps my family from smushing them from now on

  14. I have gotten what I thought are very large mosquito bites on my hand and around my ear and head the last two nights. Just now my daughter yelled that she had a very large bug flying in her room. When I went in to get it, it looked like what I just read in this article a crane fly or a mosquito hawk. I have not seen any other insects at all till this one. Could this be what left these large very itch bites on me?

    • My guess is the bite came from a nocturnal bug, not the crane flies, as they have no stinging or biting parts. If the bites continue, I would see about getting your room/house checked for mites/bed bugs.

  15. I live in NW georgia and these insects are drawn to our porch livht. I actually just witnessed one subdue a small moth and while restraining the moth with its legs, the crane fly pulled the struggling moth to its mouthparts and commence to, what I can only describe as use its mouthparts to either kill the moth for some reason but it kept the moth at its mouth for several minutes like it was ingesting the moths inner fluids or something. I then touched the moth and the crane fly started flying around, obviously because of my close contact but it appeared as though it was making every effort to keep ahold of that moth as though it were its meal in some way. It then landed and again pulled the moth to its mouthparts and started doing once again, what i can only describe as feeding on the moth. Are you sure no types of craneflies are at all predatory on other insects?? What i witnessed tonight very strongly suggests otherwise. Would be interested in hearing back from you if you should have any insight or if you end up doing further research, what you may find out. Thank you. I also want to appologize if it seems like I am insulting your expertise. This is not my intent.

    • Sounds to me like you’ve spotted a Robber Fly, which is pretty thin like the crane fly, as well has having many variations, some looking long and thin, and others being short and stubby like a bumble bee. Also, Robber flies have a tendency to not let go of their prey.

  16. Looked this up only because I have a Skeeter Eater flying around the room. Flew in front of my face a couple times, just minding his own. I grew up knowing about them since they are common here, and I know they are not predatory and just assumed they hunted mosquitos. Turns out I was wrong, so I got what I came for. Nice article.

  17. I was a little worried about them moving in with me recently. There were so many of them I just started referring to them as my room mates. Bug repellent didn’t seem to bother them. I agree that they are cool just because they are alive but now that I know they are harmless and that there are so many kinds I am facinated. I can’t wait to learn more about them. I would like to know what eats them.

    • Yeah those darn Skeeter are er where this yer Skeeter bug here Skeeter bug there I just don’t know what to do then bomb diggety I just moved out of the house and went to Alaska and we’ll let me tell you that I have not yet to seen even one of em nasty skeeter bugs God bless. Although them moose and bear git up in my house and they destroy erthing I might move to this underwater community or something cause I can’t do no skeeter bug no bears no moose no nothing

  18. Typically around this time of year, we have the insanely large swarms all around our home. We live near the bay in southern NJ and always thought the water had something to do with it. This was a very informative article! Last night, just after sunset, we noticed hundreds of funnel shaped swarms over the wildlife refuge behind our home. They were very high in the air and appeared to extend to the ground. It was the most bizarre thing we have seen. Any information explaining this phenom?

  19. Are you kidding? Yes – they can sting. I was in a workout room and saw one bouncing around a light so I cupped it in my hand to bring it outside. It expertly curled it body around the finger of my glove and jammed it’s stinger right through and into my finger. The same species in the first picture @ beginning of article. You can see the stinger in the pic…lul. Tons around my house too, I went out and grabbed one as I typed this and sure enough – stung again. Go grab one, I dare you c;

    • I can’t wait for a response on this one. Either this article is incorrect, or there is a similar bug. Until I know for certain, my same rule applies: outside, safe; inside, not so much.

      • Ignore the troll. Either one, he knows it can’t sting and is having his fun, or two, he has mistakenly picked up a wasp that looks similar. Flies cannot sting, and only certain flies bite (i.e. horseflies and robber flies.)

  20. Wow, i feel the calculations might be off a bit. I have about 15,000 in my house alone. They hide an die in the most unusual places. Though im in the southeast.

    • Because crane flies don’t bite. Same with Harvestmen (daddy long legs) not being deadly spiders because they are in fact mites. There are many wasps and other insects that appear similar.

  21. This is interesting. I thought that this website was run by a scientist and that it was she who said they didn’t bite. Wow, if they bite, it’s almost impossible that I wouldn’t have noticed that. They were everywhere here but I was never bitten. This site also says that they don’t eat anything when they are in adult form. That seems to be being contradicted here also. I’m surprised that we haven’t heard from the person who runs this site. Maybe I’m wrong….maybe this is not a professional site?

  22. Yes, I’m sure that these things don’t bite. I always am touching them by accident. So, that guy is probably a troll or just mistaken. Thanks. LOL….who trolls a insect site? too funny

      • Ok, they are starting to appear here in Sacramento, so I’ll try to get one to bite me. I still don’t understand why the original writer of this blog remains silent. Doesn’t she read all of the responses to her post? If so, why isn’t she adding details or responding to others’ claims that they bite? Kinda strange to me. After all, she’s the alleged professional and people are disputing her statements. To me, her silence means that she knows she’s wrong and doesn’t want to deal with admitting it.

      • We’ve got them all over the place here. They don’t bite. I’ve lifted them off the wall many times with my fingers to take them outside or give my dogs a treat.

  23. I don’t know where you are getting that they don’t sting or bite.. They do SOMETHING because I have been stung three different times by three different ones and it feels like a wasp sting and leaves the appearance of a wasp sting. They most certainly sting. Now, they won’t land on you and sting you, but one got caught between my fingers and stung me pretty good.

  24. I guess we’re getting the idea that they don’t bite from the woman professional who writes this column, plus personal experience. I’m disappointed that Leslie Mertz hasn’t restated her information or added clarification.

  25. I just had one fly into a glass I had used earlier for sweet tea, and I could see it’s little moth thinger tapping the side to suck up the sugar.

  26. So the thing I thought was a small crane fly and loosely cupped in my hand to get it outside and instantly felt a needle-like stab on my hand was not really a crane fly. Great. It’s still in the house.

  27. I have just noticed one flying in my room, and it freaked me the hell out. I was trying to catch this “mosquito” for around an hour until I completely lost him, so I freaked out even more – I was just about to go to sleep in a room with an enormous blood-hungry insect. Leslie, thank you so goddamn much for this article, you saved both my consciousnesses and my sleep.

  28. I live in Southern California and have caught literally hundreds of Crane Flies bare-handed and never been stung! I think those folks that have been stung should do more research on stinging insects in their locale to avoid obvious cases of mistaken identification. Learn your bugs, spiders, and reptiles in your area. You will feel more prepared to deal with your creature encounters!

    • I love that name!! I’ve never heard it. I grew up in south Florida and never saw these (or didn’t know what they were until I moved to California. I’m not sure there is a local name for them.

    • Lol Im from southern California and for whatever reason my mother always referred to them as ‘gollywompers’ so that’s what I always called them .Never heard anything even remotely similar until now :)

  29. Hard to believe a scientist can say there’s no evidence that they bite. I had 3 bites from one last night. Felt it before I saw it, so I know it wasn’t my imagination. Caught the culprit on the third sting. Had the raised welts within minutes.

  30. I’m curious about these crane flies, which are unusually abundant right now in San Diego due to a very wet winter and spring. They don’t eat other insects. Does anything eat them (other than my 2 spaniels?) If not, what’s their purpose? Is it unusual to have a species that is not either predator or prey or both?

    • Hello BringData – When talking about how they do not much feed, that’s referring to the adults. Crane flies spend most of their lives as larvae, where they feed on decaying matter, plants or are predators depending on the species. The adults are really just around to mate and find good places to lay their eggs. As adults, though, they are great food for spiders, other insects, birds, bats, reptiles, amphibians and other creatures. I also always caution people about bringing in “purpose” as that is a human centered idea. These animals just “are” and are filling a niche in nature. You could just as easily ask what’s the purpose of humans.

  31. I have a huge one bouncing around my head. I was going to kill it but felt sorry for it. I googled them and found this awesome article. I will let the dude stay in the house, now that I know that they are harmless. Poor guy won’t live long anyway according to the article. I love this age where we can ask our iPad any question and get instant info. The internet is like the great library of ancient Alexandria.

  32. I’m just outside San Diego on 5 acres and we have thousands of these crane flies and yes they do sting, I caught one and cupped it in my hands and it did sting, did it again and yes the next one stung, so now I grab them by a wing and throw them out. And I do know the difference between a crane fly and a wasp

  33. I grew up in a little town named, Ojai, in southern California. We used to get them every Spring and Summer and called them, “Skeeter Eaters”. I have taken them out of spider webs above a Koi pond thinking I was saving them from certain death. Do spiders ever eat them or is there a symbiotic relationship between them?

    • Hello Michael,
      Spiders certainly eat crane flies – they can be an important food source for lots of predators. One interesting thing is that many crane flies (and some other flies as well) actually hang on spider webs for reasons we are not sure.
      Thanks for the great question!
      Matt Bertone

  34. Another bug without any value to our environment why? It it ain’t feed on something why bother to have them anyway?

    • They are food for other animals,kinda of the point of the food chain. Humans have no value to the environment but still exist,destroying everything…why have them anyway?

  35. After rereading this article, it’s obvious that scientists have more unknowns than knowns about these insects. Consequently, I believe that it’s perfectly possible for them to bite. Who knows what changes scientists haven’t discovered yet? Just because all the ones they’ve seen don’t have the mouth parts capable of biting, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a mutation of them that does. You’d think, however, with all the people claiming to have been bitten, that the scientists would have been able to find their own biting ones by now. So, perhaps all the people who report being bitten by them are mistaken. You’d almost have to get a video of the fly landing on you, biting you, and then showing the bite marks and reactions to be able to prove this the way things are now.

  36. My parents, born and raised in the southern U.S., called these crane flies “gallinippers” – and, as so many people already know, those pesky things absolutely can “nip.” One hot summer night as I was getting ready for bed, one somehow got trapped inside my PJs, gown, or whatever I was wearing, and it most definitely DID sting, bite, or something. Ouch! I wasn’t expecting that.

  37. Unfortunately, I should have done a little homework before posting the previous comment, which I’m unable to delete. I don’t know if the thing that bit me was a crane fly or the type of mosquito referred to as a gallinipper. This happened when my family was visiting relatives east of the continental divide in the southern U.S. My parents moved to the Pacific Northwest before I was born. There are lots of crane flies up here but, to my knowledge, no gallinippers. My parents always mistakenly called these crane flies (and possibly also the crane flies where they grew up) gallinippers. In any case, the long-legged fly that got caught in my clothes looked like a crane fly to me, but Mom called it a gallinipper.

  38. Of course, there are also similar-looking ichneumon wasps, like the Netelia, that can sting, but they are not aggressive. They are more ‘muscular’ and shiny – the ones that have gotten me are orange. I discovered that they were not craneflies when I tried to pick them up and throw them out the window. The stings were painful, but short-lived, and have not swelled or reddened.

  39. I got bit 2 times by one of these and half of my face swelled up and it was numb for 3 days. I was camping in NW utah last weekend when it happened. 9-2-17 at aprox 11PM.

    • Then it was NOT a “Crane Fly” if it bit/stung you! They have NO way to sting OR bite! It IS possoble you could have very sensitive skin and the tiny barbs on their legs somehow hurt. But they AT MOST have a curled tube like butterflies & moths to sip nectar. NO TEETH OR STINGER!

  40. What if it’s not a crane fly (I’m familiar with crane flies), and looks exactly like a mosquito, but is bigger (about 1/2″ long), and apparently doesn’t bite? Got a crawl space full of ’em where I just moved, & they occasionally get in the house, but I’ve never had a bite (yet). Anyone know what this is?

  41. They need to revise this article, they mistakenly said does not bite humans. I’ve been bitten/stung many times by crane flies. I get a very itchy bump every time! Perhaps I’m allergic to their bite, but regardless I was bitten/stung.

    • Fred, if it bit you it was NOT a Crane Fly! If you READ the article, it says correctly, they have no MOUTH or STINGER and exist ONLY to mate!
      There are other insects that look like mosquitos that bite but ARE NOT crane flies. Very simple. It exists as a larvae and only pupates into a flying Crane Fly specifically and only to mate, lay eggs and die. Most don’t even eat at all!

  42. I just stepped on one 5 minutes ago, found this article trying to discover what the heck it was – and I’m telling you THEY STING!!!! I’ve got a welt on the bottom side of my foot to prove it. AND IT HURT!

  43. BTW, as someone who grew up around SE Louisiana and New Orleans, “Mosquito Hawk” is a very common name for DRAGONFLIES as they DO feed on mosquitos and frequent places where mosquitos swarm! Dragonflies are great for ridding an area of mosquitos, so please don’t hurt them. Dragonflies/Mosquito Hawks are also quite harmless to humans and animals but deadly to that tiny pest we have come to despise! The crane fly does not harm anything as a flying insect.

  44. I also grew up in the south where mosquito hawks were also known as dragonflies. I also am aware of the large mosquito like insect commonly known as crane flies. Totally different. I was surprised to learn that crane flies are called mosquito hawks.

  45. My father grew-up in Appalachian West Virginia where they call these “candle snuffers,” presumably because during the Great Depression poor folk didn’t have electricity and at night these insects are drawn to lit household candles or oil lamps.

  46. Hey.. I am from India. I saw it first time in my life today & surprised. Take some pics with my mobile camera & shared these pics with my friends.. When searching some information about this so called mosquito I got this artical.. is it realy true..

  47. What a great educational article! We have always called them “skeeter eaters”, and assumed that’s what they did! We live in GA & they have been prolific this year! This really increased my interest in insects & especially these great little (?) creatures! I’m sharing this with the rest of the family tonight. Thank you!

  48. Scientists can say all they want about the insect not being harmless and that they don’t sting, but they do. How do I know? It happened to me. It wasn’t a sting like one you would receive from a wasp or bee, but it stuck the large, pointy, stinger looking thing that protrudes from the back of its abdomen into my hand. It hurt enough to make me quickly let it go. There wasn’t any swelling or itching which are typically the results from a wasp or bee sting. It had attacked me. The stinger seemed to be used more for self defense since I had caught it to remove it from my trailer.

  49. Is it at all possible they can see their reflection in windows and want access to what they feel is another crane fly?

  50. I grew up calling them “mosquito hawks” as well, and imagined all kinds of warrior tales of them chasing down and eating a thousand evil mosquitoes a day, etc. When I learned that they were completely harmless, even to mosquitoes, I was a bit disappointed, but I still love my little wall-dwelling friends (and I’m not a “bug guy” *at all*.) When I see one in the house, I either catch him in my hands or, if that’s not possible, I very carefully put a piece of Tupperware or something over him and (again, very carefully) slide a piece of cardstock underneath, and take him outside and let him go. I would just let them stay, but I’m afraid that if I do, they’ll either live a shorter life because of no availability of their liquid food diet, or I’ll accidentally smash them in my sleep when they land on my face or whatever. (That’s happened.)

    Side note: I live in Los Angeles, and on some days in the hot months, you can drive along the freeway and see these strange black-gray “clouds” buzzing around above the trees on either side of the road. Those are swarms of crane flies, no doubt staying close to the source of their only food (the moisture pooling at the bases of the trees).

  51. BTW I see several commenters here saying that they have been bitten or stung by crane flies. I had no idea that there were some 15,000 different types, and the one in the picture at the top of this article, I would absolutely *not* try to catch in my hand. But the ones here in Los Angeles are beyond harmless, and when I catch them in my hands, I almost feel like I have a little friend dancing around in there. (I’m sure they don’t feel the same way, at least until I let them go outside.)

  52. Only just found out today they are called crane flies/mosquito hawks. I suppose it is not only humans that are evolving as the time “flies”. I too am twice a victim of these critters with the latest incident just last week. Possibly the very action of laying their egg is what the bite actually is and yes it does itch for me it was after a day but was a mild itch. Just from the way it flies weaving and bopping about i could never mistake it as anything else but the crane fly. I searched (googled) similar insects and i am certain it is the crane fly that bit me on the two seperate occasions. I had been living in peace with them for over a decade always noticing them bouncing about on the garden soil whenever i was watering it. Now that they bite i no longer entertain them

  53. They bite. I was bitten twice just this year never before after living in peace with them for dacades. Possibly it is the action of laying their eggs that is what the biting actually is. I stopped tolerating them since my first bite. They must be evolving just as much

Leave a Reply (Comments subject to review by site moderator and will not publish until approved.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe to Entomology Today via Email

Enter your email address to receive an alert whenever a new post is published here at Entomology Today.