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ferruginous tiger crane fly

(Nephrotoma ferruginea)

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Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

Photo by Alfredo Colon

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

not listed

Minnesota

not listed


	Description
	With over 15,000 described species, the family Tipulidae (crane flies) is one of the largest families of true flies (Diptera). More than 1,600 species occur in North America. The subfamily Tipulinae (large crane flies) contains the largest crane flies. In North America, the vast majority of species are in the genera Tipula and Nephrotoma. The genus Nephrotoma (tiger crane flies) contains about 150 described species. The most common of these is ferruginous tiger crane fly (Nephrotoma ferruginea). “Ferruginous” means reddish-brown or rust colored, and this is the feature that gives the crane fly its common name. However, it is more often described as orange in color. Adults are ½″ to ⅝″ (12 to 16 mm) in length. Like all tiger crane flies, they have a polished appearance, shiny or slightly shiny. The head is orange above. The snout is short and has a beak-like point. The lower jaws (maxillae) have sensory structures (palpi) attached. The last segment of each palp is antenna-like and very long, much longer than the subapical segment. There are two large, black, compound eyes and no simple eyes (ocelli). The antennae have 14 segments. They are black except for the base, pedicel, first two segments, which are orange. The exoskeletal plate covering the front part of the thorax (prescutum) is orangish-yellow with three broad, orange, longitudinal stripes. The plate covering the middle part (scutum) is orangish-yellow with two large orange spots, making it appear mostly orange. A distinct, V-shaped groove (transverse suture) on top near the wing bases separates the prescutum and scutum. There is a black spot at each end of the transverse suture. The abdomen is long, slim, and brownish-yellow. The first six segments have a black spot above. The legs are stilt-like, very long, very slender, and very fragile, easily separated from the body. The wings are very long and very narrow. Each wing has two anal veins that meet the inner margin.

	Size


	Similar Species



	Habitat
	Suburbs, open woodlands, oak-hickory forests, riversides, grasslands, pasture lands, lawns, cultivated crops.


	Biology
	Season
	April to early October. Most common May to September. Two generations in the northeast: May through June and mid-August to mid-September.

	Behavior
	It rests with its wings held flat over its body.

	Life Cycle


	Larva Food
	Decaying plant matter, grass roots

	Adult Food


	Distribution
			Sources 24, 27, 29, 30, 82.
	10/26/2022

	Occurrence
	Common


	Taxonomy
	Order	Diptera (flies)
	Suborder	Nematocera (long-horned flies)
	Infraorder	Tipulomorpha (crane flies)
	Superfamily	Tipuloidea (typical crane flies)
	Family	Tipulidae (large crane flies)
	Subfamily	Tipulinae
	Genus	Nephrotoma (tiger crane flies)

	Attempts to segregate the subfamily Tipulinae into tribes has been unsuccessful due to the near constant addition of new species and genera.

	Subordinate Taxa
	ferruginous tiger crane fly (Nephrotoma ferruginea ferruginea) ferruginous tiger crane fly (Nephrotoma ferruginea surtularis)

	Synonyms


	Common Names
	ferruginous tiger crane fly

Glossary

Maxillae

Paired mouth structures of arthropods located immediately behind the mandible and used for tasting and manipulating food. “Under-jaws”.

Ocellus

Simple eye; an eye with a single lens. Plural: ocelli.

Palp

Short for pedipalp. A segmented, finger-like process of an arthropod; one is attached to each maxilla and two are attached to the labium. They function as sense organs in spiders and insects, and as weapons in scorpions. Plural: palpi or palps.

Scutum

The forward (anterior) portion of the middle segment of the thorax (mesonotum) in insects and some arachnids.


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	Nina Chafee

	This was collected as part of a barcoding lab, it was sequenced and identified as Nephrotoma ferruginea.


	Alfredo Colon



























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Nina Chafee 10/8/2023	Location: Haverford, PA This was collected as part of a barcoding lab, it was sequenced and identified as Nephrotoma ferruginea.



Alfredo Colon 8/19/2022	Location: Albany, NY



Alfredo Colon 8/15/2022	Location: Albany, NY



Alfredo Colon 6/4/2021	Location: Woodbury, MN



Alfredo Colon 6/1/2021	Location: Woodbury, MN



Alfredo Colon 5/30 to 6/1/2021	Location: Woodbury, MN



Alfredo Colon 8/8/2019	Location: Woodbury, MN



Alfredo Colon August 2019	Location: Woodbury, MN



Alfredo Colon 8/26/2018	Location: Woodbury, MN



MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings