Almost anywhere in the grass that you look in the Western New York area, as well as the entire North East of the United States there are these insects that look like giant mosquitoes. They are not giant mosquitoes. In fact, they are called crane flies.
Some other names for these insects are Bugsy, the European Crane fly, and Mosquito Hawks. The scientific name for the insect is Tipula Paludosa. This year there has been an overabundance of them in the area. They are very noticeable now, because the adults start appearing in August and September.
The life cycle of the crane fly is actually similar to many different insects. The larvae start out in the ground and grow into a grub-like worm. At this stage, the larvae prey upon the roots of different plants, including grass, shrubs and small trees. Golf courses and other businesses that rely on large amounts of open grassland can really get hurt by these pests. Skunks actually are one of the main predators of the crane fly larvae. They scratch under the surface of the grass and find them.
Once August and September come around, the larvae morph into adults. The adults resemble an oversized mosquito. They normally fly around close to the ground. They do not bite, and generally pose no threat to humans other than that they are an annoying pest flying all around. The sole purpose of the adult crane fly is to mate and then lay their eggs for the entire process to start again.
One way to limit the population of the crane fly, besides using pesticides (which will also hurt their predators), is to attract their natural predators to your area. Some of the crane flies natural predators are robins, starlings, parasitic nematodes and ground beetles. Attracting these animals to your yard will not only decrease the amount of crane flies, but it will do it naturally, and in a way that will bring you joy.
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