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Classification Order: Diptera – true flies Family: Tipulidae

Length .

Phenology April to August

Identification This is the largest of the British craneflieswith aeg span of 10 cm, qith distinctive, heavily patterned wings.

Males slim slim with squared off or club shaped abdomens.

Females plumper when gravid and pointed ovipositer for insertiing eggs into soil

Life Cycle The evelopment cycle includes a water phase. Females lay eggs in damp mossy fringes of ditche sponds, and streams. On hatching, the larvae take to an aquatic existence below the water surface before development in submerging in leaf litter.

Habitat Moist areas and often in well wooded places.