How does a water-living crane fly larva breathe?

Through breathing holes on a disc at its tail

Large Crane Flies

Tipulidae

Large crane flies (family Tipulidae) are long-legged true flies with about 4,400 species worldwide, from everyday garden crane flies to the biggest crane flies on Earth. Their larvae live in streams, wet leaf litter, moss, soil or rotting wood, where most of them feed on decaying plants. The giant western crane fly (Holorusia hespera) of western North America is the largest crane fly in North America, with wings about 40 mm long.

Also known as True crane flies, Tipulids, Giant western crane fly (Holorusia hespera)

Large crane fly abilities

40 mm wing length, giant western crane fly
The giant western crane fly has the longest wings of any crane fly in North America, and an Asian cousin holds the world record.
- Holorusia hespera wings reach about 40 mm long, the largest of any North American crane fly.
- Its relative Holorusia mikado from Japan and China is bigger still: males have wings 32–43 mm long.
- A Holorusia mikado found on Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan, China, in 2017 had a wingspan of 11.15 cm and a body about 5 cm long.
- The smallest crane flies have wings only about 2 mm long.
Wing length
Giant western crane fly40 mm
Holorusia mikado (male)43 mm
Tipula maxima30 mm
European crane fly23 mm
Smallest crane flies2 mm
Longest wing lengths reported for each crane fly.
Sources [1, 8, 14, 15]
≈20 mm comb-horned crane fly bodyStill debated
Comb-horned crane flies are shiny black with bright yellow, orange or red marks, so they look a lot like wasps. They cannot sting.
- Ctenophora crane flies are about 20 mm long, shiny black and boldly marked with yellow, orange or red.
- This is usually described as wasp mimicry: looking like an animal that predators avoid. We found no study testing whether it really fools birds.
- Like all crane flies, they have no sting and do not bite.
Sources [6, 10, 16, 17]
4 side branches per antenna segment (male)
Male comb-horned crane flies have antennae with comb-like branches. The females’ antennae are plain.
- Each antenna segment of a male Ctenophora has two pairs of outgrowths, and the lower pair is longer than the upper pair.
- Females have 13 clearly separate antenna segments that are only slightly saw-edged.
- Most large crane flies have 13 antenna segments. Counting them helps experts tell large crane flies from limoniid crane flies, which have 14 or 16.
Sources [5, 6]
2 breathing holes on the tail disc
A crane fly larva breathes through one pair of breathing holes on a disc at its tail end, ringed by fleshy, finger-like lobes.
- Crane fly larvae have just one working pair of spiracles (breathing holes), on the last segment of the abdomen.
- This spiracle disc is usually ringed by lobes, described as tiny, fleshy, finger-like lobes at the hind end.
- In the giant Holorusia mikado the two spiracles are large, more than a third as wide as the disc, and the lobes have long hairs along their edges.
- Crane fly larvae live in almost every kind of fresh water, and a few even in salty or brackish water.
Sources [8, 11, 13, 18]
≈4,500 species, most with plant-recycling larvae
Most large crane fly larvae eat decaying plants: fallen leaves, humus or rotting wood. In streams they shred leaves into smaller bits.
- In Tipulidae, the vast majority of larvae feed on decaying plant material such as leaf litter, humus or decaying wood.
- Giant Holorusia mikado larvae feed on wet, rotting leaves at slow, leafy stream edges.
- Crane fly larvae are common in shallow stream margins, where they help break up leaves that fall in from the banks.
- The North American Tipula abdominalis carries bacteria in its hindgut that scientists think help it digest tough plant material.
Sources [8, 10, 18, 19]
0 piercing mouthparts
Many adult crane flies do not eat at all. Those that do usually drink nectar from flowers through a short snout.
- As adults, many crane flies do not eat and spend their short lives mating. Those that do eat tend to drink nectar from flowers.
- Their mouthparts form a snout, not a piercing tube like a mosquito’s.
- Tiger crane flies (Nephrotoma) have an especially short snout.
Sources [4, 9]
70–90 eggs laid in 3 hours (lab)
Females lay their eggs where the larvae will live: under water, in wet ground near water, or in rotting wood.
- Crane fly females lay their eggs either under water or in soil near water.
- Comb-horned crane fly larvae grow up inside dead wood, so these crane flies need forests with old, dying and fallen trees.
- In a lab study, a female Holorusia mikado laid 70–90 eggs within three hours, five days after she emerged.
- Eggs of tiger and comb-horned crane flies took from 5 days to more than 3 weeks to hatch.
Sources [4, 6, 8, 10, 12]
up to 5 years as a larva, depending on species
A large crane fly spends most of its life as a larva. Depending on the species, that takes a few months or up to five years.
- Crane fly larvae grow through four stages (instars), shedding their skin between each one.
- Water-living larvae can take a few months or up to five years to develop.
- Holorusia mikado adults came out of their pupae 7–8 days after pupating, early in the morning between 5 and 9 am.
- The winged adults live only a short time, spending it mating and laying eggs.
Sources [4, 8, 12, 13]

Tap a pin on the model or a part below.

12 of 13 species tested had rainbow wing patterns
- The giant western crane fly’s wings reach about 40 mm, the longest of any crane fly in North America.
- Most crane fly wings hide rainbow patterns made by light bouncing inside the thin wing. In a study of 13 crane fly species, 12 showed them.
- The giant western crane fly was the odd one out: its glossy amber wings showed no rainbow pattern. Scientists suspect its wings are too thick.
Sources [1, 2]
40 haltere beats per second
- In giant crane flies (Holorusia), the tiny haltere knobs behind the wings swing back and forth about 40 times a second.
- Scientists use Holorusia to study how haltere nerves sense the body turning, like a built-in gyroscope.
- The haltere’s sense nerves can follow vibrations of up to 150 per second, far faster than the haltere’s own beat.
Sources [3]
4th palp segment, longer than the other 3 together
- The mouthparts form a snout (rostrum), not a piercing tube like a mosquito’s.
- Large crane flies have long maxillary palps hanging from the head. The last palp segment is usually longer than the other three put together, a clue that you are looking at a Tipulidae.
- Many adults do not feed at all. Those that do usually sip nectar from flowers.
Sources [4, 5]
13 antenna segments in most species
- Large crane flies usually have 13 antenna segments. Their limoniid cousins have 14 or 16.
- Male comb-horned crane flies (Ctenophora) have two pairs of side branches on each antenna segment, so the antennae look like combs.
- Females of the same species have plain antennae that are only slightly saw-edged.
Sources [5, 6]
- A V-shaped groove on top of the thorax helps tell a crane fly from a mosquito.
- The thorax is packed with flight muscle. In the giant crane fly Holorusia mikado it is the special “asynchronous” kind, which can beat the wings several times for each nerve signal.
- Comb-horned crane flies have long bristles on the sides of the thorax.
Sources [4, 6, 7]
25–36 mm body length, male Holorusia mikado
- Male Holorusia mikado, the world’s biggest crane fly species, have bodies 25–36 mm long.
- Tiger crane flies are glossy yellow with black stripes and spots. Comb-horned crane flies are shiny black with yellow, orange or red marks.
- A female’s abdomen ends in a pointed egg-laying tip. It looks sharp but is harmless.
Sources [2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10]
5–21+ days until the eggs hatch
- In a lab study, a female Holorusia mikado laid 70–90 eggs within three hours, five days after she came out of her pupa.
- Crane fly eggs often have a thin thread that may help anchor them in wet places.
- Eggs of tiger and comb-horned crane flies took from 5 days to more than 3 weeks to hatch.
Sources [8, 11, 12]
≈13–25 mm typical larva length
- Crane fly larvae usually live in water, in streams and lakes, but also in wet leaf litter and soil.
- Giant Holorusia mikado larvae live along mountain streams, small waterfalls and roadside ditches where rotting leaves pile up and the water flows slowly.
- Water-living larvae are sensitive to pollution, so when they disappear it can be a sign that a stream is in trouble.
Sources [8, 13]
7 comb-horned species in Germany
- Comb-horned crane fly larvae grow up inside decaying wood.
- They live only in old broadleaf forests, orchards and other places where there have always been dying and fallen trees.
- Larvae of Dolichopeza, another large crane fly, live in wet cushions of moss and liverworts.
Sources [5, 6, 10, 11]

Real large crane flies

Photos from Wikimedia Commons. Some of them can change the 3D model.

Giant western crane flyBig crane fly with long legs and glossy amber wings up to 40 mm long, the largest crane fly in North America.Holorusia hespera. Not evaluated by the IUCNGiant western crane fly (Holorusia hespera), San Francisco, California. Photo: Ken-ichi Ueda, CC BY 4.0
Giant western crane flyBig crane fly with long legs and glossy amber wings up to 40 mm long, the largest crane fly in North America.Holorusia hespera. Not evaluated by the IUCNGiant western crane fly, Presidio, San Francisco. Photo: Ken-ichi Ueda, CC BY 4.0
Giant western crane flyBig crane fly with long legs and glossy amber wings up to 40 mm long, the largest crane fly in North America.Holorusia hespera. Not evaluated by the IUCNGiant western crane fly, Riverside County, California. Photo: nmoorhatch, CC BY 4.0
Tiger crane fliesGlossy yellow body with black or brown stripes and spots, and a short snout. A bit smaller than most large crane flies.Nephrotoma. Larvae live in soil and sometimes nibble cropsTiger crane fly (Nephrotoma ferruginea). Photo: Sabalo22, CC0
Tiger crane fliesGlossy yellow body with black or brown stripes and spots, and a short snout. A bit smaller than most large crane flies.Nephrotoma. Larvae live in soil and sometimes nibble cropsMale tiger crane fly (Nephrotoma submaculosa). Photo: Alvesgaspar, CC BY-SA 4.0
Comb-horned crane fliesShiny black, about 20 mm long, with yellow, orange or red marks like a wasp. Males have comb-like antennae.Ctenophora. Larvae grow up inside rotting woodMale comb-horned crane fly (Ctenophora pectinicornis), Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Frank Vassen, CC BY 2.0
Comb-horned crane fliesShiny black, about 20 mm long, with yellow, orange or red marks like a wasp. Males have comb-like antennae.Ctenophora. Larvae grow up inside rotting woodMale Ctenophora flaveolata, a wasp lookalike. Photo: Islander61, CC BY-SA 4.0
Comb-horned crane fliesShiny black, about 20 mm long, with yellow, orange or red marks like a wasp. Males have comb-like antennae.Ctenophora. Larvae grow up inside rotting woodComb-horned crane fly (Ctenophora pectinicornis). Photo: Jean.claude, CC BY-SA 3.0
Water larvaLegless, plump, tan to grey-green tube with a dark gut line, a head that can pull into the body, and a tail disc ringed by finger-like lobes.Grows for months to years before turning into a pupaCrane fly larva, Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC. Photo: Katja Schulz, CC BY 2.0
Water larvaLegless, plump, tan to grey-green tube with a dark gut line, a head that can pull into the body, and a tail disc ringed by finger-like lobes.Grows for months to years before turning into a pupaLarge crane fly larva from leaf litter, Denmark. Photo: Donald Hobern, CC BY 2.0

Large crane flies by the numbers

Measured by entomologists and museum scientists, with comparisons you can picture.

Large crane fly species: 4,378; Recognised species and subspecies of Tipulidae in the world catalogue; ≈ 1 in 4 of all 15,768 crane flies⁠[21]
All crane flies: 15,768; In four families; the limoniid crane flies are the biggest family with 10,821⁠[21]
Wing length: 40 mm; Giant western crane fly, the largest in North America⁠[1]
Record wingspan: 11.15 cm; Holorusia mikado from Qingcheng Mountain, China, 2017⁠[14, 8]
Record body length: ≈5 cm; The same record Holorusia mikado specimen⁠[14]
Life as a larva: up to 5 years; A few months to five years under water, depending on species⁠[13]
Pupa stage: 7–8 days; Holorusia mikado reared in the lab⁠[8]
Haltere beat: 40 per second; Natural haltere swing of giant crane flies (Holorusia)⁠[3]
Species in Europe: 519; Plus more than 500 in North America north of Mexico⁠[10, 13]
Giant western sightings: 1,951; GBIF records of Holorusia hespera; 1,219 of them from California, most in May–July⁠[20]

Large crane fly myths and facts

Wasp lookalikes, record giants and baby crane flies in streams. Which of these are true?

0 of 8 answered

“Black-and-yellow crane flies can sting like wasps.”
“All crane fly larvae live in lawns and eat grass roots.”
“The “world’s biggest mosquito” found in China in 2017 was a mosquito.”
“Crane flies are a young group that appeared after the dinosaurs.”
“Some crane fly larvae spend years under water.”
“Every crane fly wing shimmers with hidden rainbow colours.”
“Crane flies only live in Europe and North America.”
“Lots of animals depend on crane flies for food.”

Large crane fly records

The biggest, the oldest and the slowest to grow up.

World’s biggest crane fly
11.15 cm wingspan
Holorusia mikado, Qingcheng Mountain, China
Found in Sichuan in August 2017, with a body about 5 cm long. A Holorusia mikado specimen holds the 2018 Guinness World Record for the largest crane fly.⁠[14, 8]
Biggest in North America
40 mm wings
Giant western crane fly (Holorusia hespera)
The largest crane fly species in North America.⁠[1]
Tiniest crane flies
2 mm wings
The smallest crane fly species
Twenty times shorter than a giant western crane fly’s wing.⁠[1]
Ancient family
Late Jurassic
Tipunia (fossil large crane flies)
The oldest fossils that can be placed in Tipulidae with confidence. A first Early Cretaceous species from Lebanon was described in 2023.⁠[5, 22, 24]
Longest childhood
up to 5 years
Some water-living crane fly larvae
Most of a crane fly’s life is spent as a larva.⁠[13]
Big family
4,378 species
Tipulidae
About 28% of the world’s 15,768 crane fly species.⁠[21]

A giant crane fly’s life

From an egg at the stream edge to a big, slow flyer. Some steps come from studies of the giant Holorusia mikado and other close relatives.

Day 0
Egg
A female lays her eggs under water or in wet soil near water. Many crane fly eggs have a thread that may help anchor them.⁠[4, 11]
5 days to 3+ weeks
Hatching
In tiger and comb-horned crane flies, eggs took from 5 days to more than 3 weeks to hatch.⁠[12]
Months to years
Larva
The larva lives at leafy stream edges, eats rotting leaves and breathes through the disc on its tail. It grows through four stages.⁠[8, 12, 11]
Up to 5 years
Long childhood
Depending on the species, life as a larva lasts from a few months to five years.⁠[13]
7–8 days
Pupa
In Holorusia mikado, the pupa stage lasted 7–8 days.⁠[8]
Early morning
Out of the pupa
The adults climbed out between 5 and 9 am.⁠[8]
May to July
Flight season
Most records of giant western crane flies are from May to July, and July is the busiest month.⁠[20]
A few days later
Next eggs
A Holorusia mikado female in the lab laid 70–90 eggs five days after emerging. Adults live only a short time.⁠[8, 4]

Giant vs tiger vs comb-horned crane fly

Three very different members of the large crane fly family.

Giant western crane fly vs tiger crane fly vs comb-horned crane fly
	Giant western crane fly	Tiger crane flies	Comb-horned crane flies
Scientific name⁠[2, 9, 6]	Holorusia hespera	Nephrotoma	Ctenophora
Colours⁠[2, 9, 6]	Glossy amber wings, no rainbow sheen	Glossy yellow with black stripes and spots	Shiny black with yellow, orange or red marks
Size⁠[1, 10, 6]	Wings up to 40 mm	A bit smaller than most large crane flies	About 20 mm long
Antennae⁠[5, 9, 6]	Usually 13 segments, like most of the family	Short, with whorls of hairs	Males: comb-like branches
Larva lives⁠[8, 9, 10]	Water and wet ground (in its genus: leafy stream edges)	In soil	Inside rotting wood
Found in⁠[20, 9, 6]	Western North America	Forests, scrub and damp meadows	Old broadleaf forests and orchards
Species in Germany⁠[10]	None	20	7

German counts come from a 2024 list of 142 large crane flies recorded in Germany.

Are large crane flies endangered?

Many large crane flies are common, but some need wet forests, clean streams and old dead wood.

IUCN Red List

Not Evaluated (NE)

Trend unknown

We found no IUCN Red List assessment for large crane flies. The giant western crane fly is listed as Not Evaluated. Some species, such as the comb-horned Ctenophora ornata, are described as rare in parts of Europe.⁠[20, 25]

Not assessed by the IUCN Red List

Threats

Drained forest wetlands
European forest wetlands have been shrinking for a long time because of drainage and other human disturbance.⁠[26]
Too-tidy forests
In a Danish study of 104 crane fly species, managed forests had fewer species than unmanaged ones, for both wood-living and soil-living crane flies.⁠[26]
Drying bogs56–81%
In British upland bogs, falling water tables under climate change could cut crane fly numbers by 56–81% by 2051–2080.⁠[27]
Polluted streams
Water-living larvae are sensitive to pollution, including pesticides washing off lawns into streams.⁠[13]

What’s helping

Rewetting
Researchers recommend restoring natural water levels and protecting old swamp forests, and then mostly leaving them alone.⁠[26]
Keeping dead wood
Comb-horned crane flies need places that always have dying and fallen trees.⁠[6]
Recording sightingsmore sites
New records showed the rare Ctenophora ornata lives in more places in Poland than was known.⁠[25]
DNA barcodes76 species
A 2024 DNA library covers 76 species, about 54% of Germany’s large crane flies, making it faster to identify them in wildlife surveys.⁠[10]

Large crane fly quiz

Twelve questions. Every answer is somewhere on this page.

Question 1 of 12Score 0

About how many species of large crane flies (Tipulidae) are known?

Large Crane Flies field notes

Diet, food web, safety and badges from the Snappit field guide.

Diet & Feeding

Adults sip nectar or don't eat, but larvae munch on decaying plants or plant roots.

Primary Foods

decaying leaves
humus
rotting wood
plant roots
nectar
Foraging Method: Foraging

Age differences: Most larvae feed on decaying plant matter, and some eat plant roots. Adults often do not eat at all during their short lives; those that do usually drink nectar.

Ecological connections

Little brown batEaten by
Hunts flying insects like crane flies at night.
Garden orb-weaverEaten by
Catches adults in its sticky web.
Kentucky bluegrassEats
The larvae of some species eat the roots.

Safety

Danger 0/5 · No known danger

Crane flies are not dangerous, so you can watch them without worry!

Traits

Collections

Insects

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Tipulidae

Also known as

True crane flies · Tipulids · Giant western crane fly (Holorusia hespera) · Tiger crane flies (Nephrotoma) · Comb-horned crane flies (Ctenophora)

Sources for these large crane fly facts

27 studies and references · checked Oct 16, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How to identify Large Crane Flies?

Look for six legs, antennae, three body sections and the shape of the wings. Beetles have hardened front wings; flies have just one working pair. Tiny insects may need a close view before their group is clear. Insect Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

What is Large Crane Flies's wingspan?

25-111.5 mm

How big is Large Crane Flies?

15-50 mm

How long does Large Crane Flies live?

5-15 days

What does Large Crane Flies eat?

Adults sip nectar or don't eat, but larvae munch on decaying plants or plant roots.

Where is Large Crane Flies usually found?

Streams, wetlands, forests, and damp meadows

How many legs does Large Crane Flies have?

What is the biggest crane fly in the world?

The giant crane fly Holorusia mikado of East Asia. A specimen found on Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan, China, in 2017 had an 11.15 cm wingspan and a body about 5 cm long. A Holorusia mikado specimen holds the 2018 Guinness World Record for the largest crane fly.

What is the biggest crane fly in North America?

The giant western crane fly, Holorusia hespera, with wings about 40 mm long. It lives in western North America, mostly in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

Are giant crane flies dangerous?

No. Crane flies cannot sting and do not bite, even the biggest ones and the wasp-like comb-horned species. Watch them without grabbing: their long legs are delicate.

What is the difference between Tipulidae and other crane flies?

Tipulidae, the large or true crane flies, are one of four crane fly families, with 4,378 of the world’s 15,768 crane fly species. They usually have 13 antenna segments and a very long last palp segment.

Why does the comb-horned crane fly look like a wasp?

Its shiny black body with yellow, orange or red marks is described as wasp mimicry, which may help it avoid predators. We found no study testing this, and it is harmless.

Where do crane fly larvae live?

Most live in water or wet places: streams, lakes, wet leaf litter, moss and soil. Comb-horned crane fly larvae live inside rotting wood, and a few crane flies live in salty water.

How long do large crane flies live?

Most of their life is spent as a larva, from a few months to five years. The pupa stage can take about a week, and the winged adults live only a short time.

Are crane flies good for streams?

Yes. Their larvae help break down fallen leaves, they are food for many animals, and because water-living larvae are sensitive to pollution, their numbers tell scientists about water quality.

Where to spot

State Park26 sightings4 species

Washington, US

Twanoh State Park

Marine Park, Camping, Hood Canal, Warm Water Swimming, Hiking, Shellfish Harvesting, Birdwatching, Family Friendly, Historic Ccc Buildings, Wildlife Viewing

You might spot Evergreen Huckleberry and Barrow's Goldeneye.

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