Nephrotoma appendiculata

Nephrotoma appendiculata, the spotted crane fly, is a species of crane fly. [1][2]

Nephrotoma appendiculata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Tipulidae
Genus:	Nephrotoma
Species:	N. appendiculata
Binomial name
Nephrotoma appendiculata (Pierre, 1919)
Synonyms
Pachyrhina appendiculata Pierre, 1919 Tipula maculata Meigen, 1804 Tipula maculosa Meigen, 1818

Subspecies

Subspecies include: [3]

• Nephrotoma appendiculata appendiculata (Pierre, 1919) (Northwestern Europe and the Near East)
• Nephrotoma appendiculata pertenua Oosterbroek, 1978 (Southwestern Europe and North Africa)

Distribution

This species is present in most of Europe, in North Africa and in the Near East. [4]

Habitat

These crane flies inhabit woodland edges, gardens, fields, rough grassland. and farmland. [5][6]

Description

Nephrotoma appendiculata has a wingspan of about 50 mm (2.0 in),[5] and a body length of 13–15 mm (0.5–0.6 in).[6][7] The body is yellow with a few short, black stripes on the thorax , a black horseshoe mark on the side[6] and a broad dark stripe[6] on each section of the abdomen. The wings have a thin, yellow line near the leading edge.[5] The wing stigma is usually pale, but sometimes it is dark. [6]

This species is rather similar to Nephrotoma flavescens. [6]

Biology

Adults can be seen from April to August. [6][7] The larvae, known as "leatherjackets",[5] feed on the roots of grasses, [6][7] while the adults feed on umbellifers such as cow parsley. [6][7]

Gallery

• 
  Mating
• 
  Male
• 
  Female
• 
  Wing detail

References

1. Oosterbroek P. CCW: Catalogue of Craneflies of the World.
2. BioLib
3. Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D. Catalogue of life
4. Fauna europaea
5. G. Bradley (2006). "Spotted Craneflies: Nephrotoma appendiculata". Retrieved July 29, 2010.
6. Nature Spot
7. Commanster