---
title: "What the sources say about the European Crane Fly | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "45 claims from the European Crane Fly profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the European Crane Fly (*Tipula paludosa*)

> 45 claims from the European Crane Fly profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [European Crane Fly](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/european-crane-fly/)

## European Crane Fly. Ornamentals Northwest Archives, Washington State University Extension (hosted by Oregon State University).

https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/sites/agscid7/files/horticulture/osu-nursery-greenhouse-and-christmas-trees/onn070119.pdf

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| leather-skinned grubs mostly hide underground by day and feed at night | During the day, leatherjackets, about 1 inch long, mostly stay underground, but on damp, warm nights they come to the surface to feed (note: tagline) |
| The larvae of the European crane fly develop a tough skin, which is where their common name, leatherjackets, comes from | The larvae develop a tough skin; hence their common name,"leatherjackets." |
| Leatherjacket grubs with tough skin that come up to feed on damp, warm nights | on damp, warm nights they come to the surface to feed on the above-ground parts of many plants (note: stats.superpower) |
| A leatherjacket is a small, gray-brown, wormlike grub about 1 inch long | Larva of the European crane fly - small, gray-brown, wormlike, approximately 1 inch long. |
| By day it mostly stays underground. When the night is damp and warm, it comes up to eat the above-ground parts of many plants | During the day, leatherjackets, about 1 inch long, mostly stay underground, but on damp, warm nights they come to the surface to feed on the above-ground parts of many plants. |
| In fall the grubs feed on the root crowns of clover and grass | The leatherjackets feed on the root crowns of clover and grass during the fall |
| Larvae feed on the root crowns of clover and grass, and on garden vegetables | The European crane fly larvae also feed on beet, potato, corn (maize), other garden vegetables, and ornamentals and nursery trees (note: stats.diet; first half in the claim above) |
| They also feed on beet, potato, corn, other garden vegetables, ornamentals and nursery trees, and young plants suffer most | The European crane fly larvae also feed on beet, potato, corn (maize), other garden vegetables, and ornamentals and nursery trees - young plants are most susceptible |
| Adults emerge from the soil of lawns and pastures from late August to mid-September | Adult crane flies emerge from soil of lawns, pastures, and other grass areas from late August to mid-September. |
| Between late August and mid-September, when they climb out of the soil | Adult crane flies emerge from soil of lawns, pastures, and other grass areas from late August to mid-September. (note: FAQ) |
| An adult could pass for an oversized mosquito, with a body of about 1 inch before you add the legs | looks like a large mosquito with a body about one inch long, not including the legs (note: body says 1 inch; the source says one inch) |
| Within 24 hours of emerging, females have mated and laid their eggs in the grass | The females mate and lay eggs in grass within 24 hours after emerging. |
| The grubs spend the winter as leatherjackets and keep feeding as spring warms | They winter in the leatherjacket stage. As the weather warms in the spring, they continue to feed. (note: until mid-May is the next quote) |
| Feeding stops about mid-May | Leatherjacket feeding stops about mid-May. |
| In July and August they lie in a nonfeeding stage just below the soil surface | Leatherjackets go into a nonfeeding stage just below the soil surface during July and August. |
| They wriggle to the surface and the adult crane flies emerge | From late August through September pupae wriggle to the surface and the adult crane flies emerge. |
| The species has one generation a year | this insect has only one generation annually |
| Each year brings just one generation | this insect has only one generation annually (note: FAQ) |
| In 1966, a pasture near New Westminster, British Columbia, averaged 110 larvae per square foot in April and May, which works out to 4.5 million per acre | Damage potential in pasture was first noted in 1966 when 10 acres of pasture grassland was nearly eliminated on a small farm near New Westminister. At that site an average of 110 larva were found per square foot (April & May) which translates to 4.5 million leatherjackets per acre. (note: average is the source's own word) |
| Native to northern Europe; introduced to North America | The European crane fly is a native of northern Europe (note: stats.habitat) |
| first found in 1955 on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia | The European crane fly was first found in North America in 1955 on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. |
| in 1965 near Vancouver, British Columbia | In 1965 it was discovered in British Columbia in the area around eastern Vancouver. |
| A 1980 to 1981 outbreak around Seattle, Washington, wiped out lawns, fairways and golf greens | In 1980-1981 a major outbreak occurred in the Seattle, Washington, area causing total destruction of lawns, fairways, and greens. |
| whose skin is tough | The larvae develop a tough skin (note: FAQ) |
| where the damage to a lawn is severe, bare areas appear | Severe damage to lawns (bare areas and lodging of the grass) (note: FAQ) |
| Tipula paludosa is native to northern Europe | The European crane fly is a native of northern Europe |
| a grayish-brown grub roughly an inch long | small, gray-brown, wormlike, approximately 1 inch long (note: FAQ) |
| It eats clover and grass at the root crowns | The leatherjackets feed on the root crowns of clover and grass (note: FAQ) |
| adults climb out of lawns and pastures from late August to mid-September | Adult crane flies emerge from soil of lawns, pastures, and other grass areas from late August to mid-September. (note: vibe.reason; same quote as the body sentence "Adults emerge from the soil of lawns and pastures from late August to mid-Septem") |

## Daddy longlegs. Welsh Wildlife Trust.

https://www.welshwildlife.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/flies/daddy-longlegs

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In Britain, large craneflies are called daddy longlegs | The daddy longlegs is actually a large type of cranefly, of which there are 94 species in the UK. (note: Welsh page is family scope (Tipulidae); the sentence names large craneflies, not this species.) |
| says the idea that they are venomous is a myth | The urban myth that daddy longlegs are venomous is just that - a myth! |
| Craneflies cannot bite, it adds, and the rumour probably comes from mixing them up with certain spiders | It's true that they cannot bite, but the venomous rumour is likely to have been due to its confusion with certain species of spiders. |
| That page covers the crane fly family, not this species alone | The daddy longlegs is actually a large type of cranefly, of which there are 94 species in the UK (note: scope statement) |
| a crane fly's very long legs easily fall off if handled | with translucent wings and very long legs, which easily fall off if handled |
| No. The Welsh Wildlife Trust calls that an urban myth and says craneflies cannot bite | The urban myth that daddy longlegs are venomous is just that - a myth! It's true that they cannot bite (note: FAQ) |
| The rumour likely comes from confusing them with certain spiders | the venomous rumour is likely to have been due to its confusion with certain species of spiders (note: FAQ) |
| Its page covers the whole crane fly family, not this species alone | The daddy longlegs is actually a large type of cranefly, of which there are 94 species in the UK (note: FAQ scope) |
| tags: flying | The adults are on the wing during the late summer (note: tags, task #1254; the page covers family Tipulidae, and every adult crane fly is winged) |

## European crane fly (Tipula paludosa). Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook, Oregon State University.

https://pnwhandbooks.org/node/6476

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Adults of this species do not feed, says the Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook: they mate quickly and lay eggs for 2 to 14 days. | Upon emergence, adults do not feed but instead quickly mate and begin laying eggs for 2 to 14 days. |

## European Crane Flies (Tipula paludosa and Tipula oleracea). Cornell Integrated Pest Management.

https://cals.cornell.edu/integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/fact-sheets/european-crane-flies-tipula-paludosa-and-tipula-oleracea-ornamental-ipm-fact-sheet

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Cornell's pest management programme calls them relatively short-lived. | Adults are non feeding and relatively short-lived. |

## Oestergaard et al. (2006). Biological control of Tipula paludosa (Diptera: Nematocera) using entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernema spp.) and Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2006.07.003

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| the first grubs hatch from September to mid-October | first instars hatch from September until mid-October |
| a 2006 study called it the major insect pest of grassland in northwest Europe | Tipula paludosa (Diptera: Nematocera) is the major insect pest in grassland in Northwest Europe (note: replaces the 1983 'only occasionally occurs in economically damaging numbers' with the newer source) |
| Native to northern Europe; introduced to North America | has been accidentally introduced to North America (note: stats.habitat) |

## Peck, Olmstead & Morales (2008). Application timing and efficacy of alternatives for the insecticidal control of Tipula paludosa Meigen (Diptera: Tipulidae), a new invasive pest of turf in the northeastern United States. Pest Management Science.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.1592

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| It was detected in New York State for the first time in 2004 | Tipula paludosa Meigen and Tipula oleracea L. (Diptera: Tipulidae), were detected in New York State for the first time in 2004 (note: abstract; both species) |

## Tipula paludosa Meigen, 1830. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=119401

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Not Evaluated | Tipula paludosa Meigen, 1830 (note: stats.conservationStatus. The prefetch found no Red List assessment for Tipula paludosa (GBIF has no category, no Crossref assessment DOI), so no IUCN reference is cited. ITIS anchors only the accepted name.) |