crane fly

Any of numerous long-legged, slender-bodied flies of the family Tipulidae and several other families of the suborder Nematocera that have the general appearance of a large mosquito but do not bite.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

crane fly

cranefly

(Animals) any dipterous fly of the family Tipulidae, having long legs, slender wings, and a narrow body. Also called (Brit): daddy-longlegs

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

crane′ fly`

any of numerous nonbiting insects constituting the family Tipulidae, resembling a large mosquito with long legs.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

crane fly - long-legged slender flies that resemble large mosquitoes but do not bite

daddy longlegs

dipteran, dipteron, dipterous insect, two-winged insects - insects having usually a single pair of functional wings (anterior pair) with the posterior pair reduced to small knobbed structures and mouth parts adapted for sucking or lapping or piercing

family Tipulidae, Tipulidae - crane flies

Translations

Schnake

típula

tipule

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

"Ants will eat greenfly, crane flies feed on grasses and other insects will balance each other."

Your garden can come alive; PLANTSWOMAN CHRISTINE WALKDEN GIVES HER TOP TIPS TO ATTRACTING GARDEN INSECTS

Long grass on wet soil is ideal for crane flies, the bird's favourite snack.

Golden era beckons for upland bird

The flying creatures, also known as crane flies, can't bite humans and are actually pray for other animals such as spiders, fish, amphibians and birds.

It's all right! They don't bite, but they'll give you the creeps

Cellar spiders or more commonly known as Daddy Long Legs spiders in the US - not to be confused with daddy long legs crane flies here in the UK - are large and a bit off-putting as they can grow up to 45mm.

How to tackle the invasion of the spiders

Hordes of crane flies are about to take flight across Scotland after experts discovered hundreds of millions of the grubs they grow out of are living underground.

BIG DADDY; HORDES OF CRANE FLIES COMING OUR WAY; Turn off the lights.. scientists warn it will be a bumper year for beasties

Perfect weather for breeding this year means we can also expect an invasion of daddy long legs, or crane flies.

Invasion of the sex-mad cannibals; and why we should be glad to have spiders

But the biggest insect news of the fall has been the emergence of an estimated 200 billion Crane Flies or Daddy Long Legs.

Sprawl Around London Offers Array Of Nature

The term daddy-long-legs is actually used to refer to three different animals - crane flies, harvestmen and cellar or vibrating spiders.

The Outdoor Space

The spread up north from these harmless creepy-crawlies - also known as crane flies - means that they may be a more common sight in our homes this autumn.

Coming to nooks and crannies near you... 200 billion daddy longlegs on the way

The insects - also known as crane flies - provide food for wildlife, such as birds and spiders, just before the winter comes, insect charity Buglife said.

Weather has created ideal conditions for flies

Biologists say that 200 billion crane flies - the official name for daddy-long-legs - will hatch across the UK.

BIG DADDY INVASION; 'perfect weather' means billions of giant crane flies to hatch across uk

Most of the crane flies are Tipula paludosa, a species which is around an inch in size and is found across the UK.

INVASION OF THE DADDY LONGLEGS; Global warming set to spark insect influx