Crane Flies

The pussy willows have popped, the rhubarb is coming up and the mosquitos have even made their first appearance in the northwoods.  Along with the mosquitos are the Crane Flies which are often confused with mosquitos.  Crane flies spend their time near water and are much larger than a mosquito with a wing span that can reach up to 3 inches.  Due to their large size they tend to be much slower than mosquitos and thankfully they do not bite.  Crane flies provide satisfaction to mosquito haters who mistakenly kill them thinking they are mosquitos.  So the next time you see a very large, slow moving mosquito that isn’t trying to bite you, think again, it could be a crane fly.