Saturday, April 20, 2013

Crane Fly for Camera Critters and Weekly Top Shot April 20, 2013

I was photographing these Maple Tree seed pods last Saturday.
Pretty, aren't they?

Look what I found - a Crane Fly!
The adults are short-lived, fragile insects; it is not unusual for a leg to break off.
The larva stage is considered a pest becasue it eats the roots of grass.
An infestation of the larva can damage a sports field or golf course.
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The most interesting thing (to me) about this insect is the small knobbed structures
behind the wings called halteres.
They act as gyroscopes to help the Crane Fly in flight.

Other names for them include:
May Fly, Daddy Longlegs, Mosquito Eater, Gallinipper and Gollywhopper.
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Have a wonderful week-end!

Other than adding my name,
both these photos are SOOC

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For more Weekly Top Shots:  Click Here!


11 comments:

  1. The seed pods are pretty, the colors are beautiful. Great sighting of the crane fly, cool insect. Have a happy weekend!

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  2. Lea,
    I have never seen a Crane Fly before! Great job on the macro shot and background colors.

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  3. Have never seen or heard of a crane fly before. Interesting.

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  4. Beautiful colours and that's quite a fly! Terrific shots.

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  5. Very pretty. I love the patterns on its wings.

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  6. I never heard about a crane fly so thanks for sharing. Great shots!

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  7. I don't guess we have those kind of maples on our property.

    Interesting about the crane fly.

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  8. I like your crane fly. The creatures we call Daddy Long legs here are spiders (well actually I'm not sure they are true spiders but they look a lot like them). Not a wing in sight.

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  9. I love your photos of the newly emerging seed pods and the insect!

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  10. Have just encountered your page and I guess you should be complimented for this piece. More power to you!

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