Crane fly, Tipula paludosa
Crane fly, Tipula paludosa © jacilluch, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic
Also known as daddy-long-legs, adult crane flies have long, brown slender bodies, large greyish wings and prominent dangling legs. Tipula paludosa is one of the most common crane flies in the UK. Their larvae are the infamous ‘leatherjackets’ which cause damage to lawns by feeding on grass roots. T. paludosa looks very similar to T. oleracea but is most common in the autumn whereas T.oleracea flies in the spring.
