Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about crane flies. Don't forget to fly over the subscribe button for more animal videos. Just for a minute, instead talking about what crane flies are, we're going to talk about what crane flies are not because there seems to be a lot of confusion about this. First of all, they're not mosquitoes. They are related to mosquitoes but if you walk away from this video without learning anything else please let it be that crane flies are not mosquitoes and they in absolutely no way are able to hurt you. They don't sting. They don't bite. They're not even that great at flying. So maybe don't be mean to them just because they have devilish, similar looking cousins.

Also, crane flies are not spiders. And maybe you're thinking, well duh Animal Fact Files, they obviously have six legs and wings which means they can't be a spider, to which we say, yeah good job, apparently you've been keeping up with the facts here. But in all seriousness, crane flies are often commonly labeled as daddy long legs which many people associate with spiders (though, that's also incorrect as we've previously discussed). Crane flies are actually flies. They have only one pair of wings along with the funny little reduced stubs that all flies have: including mosquitoes. But crane flies aren't mosquitoes!

Crane flies are also sometimes known as mosquito hawks or, my personal favorite even though it's somewhat invalid, skeeter eaters. Most adult crane flies don't even eat anything. Like, at all. There might be some species out of the thousands that drink nectar and thus act as pollinators, but most of them don't eat as adults. We will be fair, however, and say that crane fly larvae may eat mosquitoes - though those mosquitoes would likely also be in their larval form. Crane flies do most, if not all, of their eating as larvae. These arthropods go through complete metamorphosis with their larval form typically acting as their longest life stage. Most of the time they live less than a year, but where they live can play a part in how long they can expect to survive.

Crane flies love wet places. Considering their larvae often live in water, this is unsurprising. They're found on every continent except, well, you know where. If the larvae aren't hanging out under the waves, they can be found underground. Same with the eggs and pupae. Adults, however, with their airborne abilities may be found further away from water sources, like inside a house. Seriously, I don't understand why these guys always end up inside our house. It's like, do you want Chester to eat you?!

Adults usually emerge in late spring and early fall - typically before and after the big mosquito rushes of the summer. Just saying. Adults meet up, mate, and then the female shortly later lays her eggs either on the ground or in water. During this time they might be eaten by birds, bats, small mammals, other insects, and spiders. We would say they make a pretty decent sized meal considering they can reach four inches (10cm) in length, but in actuality some of the smaller species are a measly two tenths of an inch (5 millimeter) long, so they aren't all so big! This, of course, can make them even easier to misidentify as a mosquito, but if you're pretty confident it's a crane fly desperately trying to escape through your window, show it some love and just let it out, it doesn't have that long to live anyway…

For more facts on crane flies, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.