Crane Fly Morphology
Morphological terminology follows that of Alexander and Byers (1981)

| HEAD | THORAX | ABDOMEN |

Crane flies are characterized by their elongate bodies, a pair of narrow wings and long, slender legs.

Gnophomyia tristissma by Lew Scharpf	Erioptera sp by Tom Murray	Pilaria sp by Sasha Azevedo

Tipula furca by Tom Murray	Epiphragma solatrix by Steve Scott
Neocladula delicatula by Stephen Cresswell	Tipula sayi by Gary Kessler

Nephrotoma ferruginea by Philip Penketh

Crane flies can be distinguished from all other true flies by the V-shaped transverse suture on the dorsal part of the meso-thorax, and by the absence of ocelli.

Dolichopeza sp by Gaga Lin

The body length of crane flies from the front of the head to the tip of the abdomen varies depending upon species.  In North America the body sizes vary from 2 mm in Tasiocera ursina, to about 55 mm in Holorusia hespera and 60 mm in the female of Leptotarsus (Longurio) testaceus.

Tasiocera ursina male	Holorusia hespera female	Leptotarsus testaceus female

HEAD                [^Top]

Tipula hirsuta by Jay Cossey	Pedicia albivitta by Jean-René Bibeau

The compound eyes are large, equal size in both sexes in most species, and usually occupy most of the surface of the head.  They are usually glabrous but with short erect hairs in the tribe Pediciini. 

Tipula oleracea Head by Frank Koehler

Limonia annulata Head by Tom Murray

Tipula sp by Mark Plonsky	Tipula sp by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland	Chionea valga by Tom Murray	Gonomyia sp by Ling-Chu Lin

The antennae are generally short to moderate in length, but are often extremely long in male of certain species of Megistocera, Polymera, and Hexatoma. 

Megistocera fuscana male	Hexatoma cinerea male	Polymera sp male

The flagellomeres are usually simple and unmodified but are branched in species of Ctenophora, Limonia (Idioglochina), and Limonia (Rhipidia).

Ctenophora sp by Ling-Chu Lin	Limonia (Idioglochina) sp by Gaga Lin	Limonia (Rhipidia) sp by Gaga Lin

The rostrum is conspicuous and often extended into a small projection called nasus in flies of the subfamily Tipulinae.  The rostrum is small and inconspicuous in Limoniinae, but greatly elongated in species of Limonia (Geranomyia), Elephantomyia, and Taxorhina.  Mouthparts have a pair of four-segmented maxillary palpus.  The palpi are short in Limoniinae and longer in Tipulinae.

Nephrotoma alterna by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland	Dicranoptycha elsa by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland

Elephantomyia westwoodi by Tom Murray	Limonia (Geranomyia) sp by Lew Scharpf	Toxorhina magna by Brian Womble

THORAX       [^Top]

Tipula dorsimaculata by Mark Plonsky

ABBREVIATIONS FOR TERMINOLOGY OF THORAX OF CRANE FLY

Wings are normally present, but reduced or lost in a few group, either in both sexes (Chionea) or only in females.  Wing venation greatly variable within family and are important in taxonomy.

Tipula sp. by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland

Dicranoptycha sp. by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland

Pilaria sp. by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland

ABBREVIATIONS FOR TERMINOLOGY OF wing OF CRANE FLY

Chionea sp by John Haarstad

ABDOMEN       [^Top]

Abdomen is long and slender and with nine evident segments.  The apex of abdomen in male enlarged into a club-shaped hypopygium, in female extended into elongate, acutely pointed ovipositor.  They can be sexed visually in the field by these two characters.

Nephrotoma alterna male by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland	Nephrotoma alterna female by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland

Dicranoptycha elsa female by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland	Dicranoptycha elsa male by Gayle and Jeanell strickland

The genitalia of crane flies as a group are diverse greatly.  Various authors have attempted to study these characters and proposed independently for the terminology of the reproductive apparatus.  The terminology used here for the male and female genitalia, and for the identification keys follow that of Alexander and Byers (1981).     

Tipula disjuncta male by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland

Tipula sp female by Gayle and Jeanell Strickland