After our crazy February weather, you might fear that the giant mosquitoes descending on North Texas are some weird anomaly caused by our record-breaking cold winter. The good news is they are not, and you can rest easy that these mega-mosquitoes are crane flies that are entirely normal at this time of year.
You may have heard them called mayflies, mosquito hawks, skeeter eaters, and my favorite, mosquito on steroids! But regardless of what you call them, these inch-long, gangly-legged insects that will sneak into your home and bouncing off the walls and ceilings are, in fact, crane flies. They are also entirely harmless, even though many internet sites say they can bite or sting.
The interesting thing about adult crane flies is how little they eat, if at all, according to the experts. Some will sponge up liquids, such as dew and honey water. And others will visit flowers to take up nectar. But the reason they don’t eat much is that adult crane flies don’t have time. They only live a few days.
Crane flies spend most of their time as larvae living underwater in streams, the edges of ponds, within wet logs, or in other damp places, and then emerge as adults for a quick mating spree before dying.
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