Trichoceridae, or winter crane flies, of the order
Diptera
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advance ...
are long, thin, delicate insects superficially similar in appearance to the
Tipulidae
Tipulidae is a family of large Crane fly, crane flies in the order Diptera. There are more than 30 genera and 4,200 described species in Tipulidae, common and widespread throughout the world.
A crane fly can be identified as a member of Tipuli ...
,
Tanyderidae, and
Ptychopteridae
The Ptychopteridae, phantom crane flies, are a small family (three extant genera) of nematocerous Diptera. Superficially similar in appearance to other "tipuloid" families, they lack the ocelli of the Trichoceridae, the five-branched radial vein ...
. The presence of
ocelli
A simple eye or ocellus (sometimes called a pigment pit) is a form of eye or an optical arrangement which has a single lens without the sort of elaborate retina that occurs in most vertebrates. These eyes are called "simple" to distinguish the ...
distinguishes the Trichoceridae from these other
families
Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
. There are approximately 160 known species. The adults can be found flying in the fall and the spring and some are active even in the winter, hence their common name. They form dancing, loose swarms of mostly males. Adults can also be found resting inside
caves
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock ...
and hollow logs.
Larva
A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
e occur in moist habitats where they feed on decaying organic matter. They are important contributors to winter food webs.
Range
Distributed globally. Most Trichoceridae species are found in non-tropical regions (
Holarctic
The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...
regions). There are 27 species in North America.
Description
Besides Trichoceridae, there are very few insects that appear in adult form during winter months. They are usually seen in the fall or early spring and can be seen on mild winter days. Adult trichocerids are medium-sized flies that are hard to distinguish in the field. Aside from the presence of
ocelli
A simple eye or ocellus (sometimes called a pigment pit) is a form of eye or an optical arrangement which has a single lens without the sort of elaborate retina that occurs in most vertebrates. These eyes are called "simple" to distinguish the ...
, they have a V-shaped
suture on the
mesonotum
The mesothorax is the middle of the three segments of the thorax of hexapods, and bears the second pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the mesonotum (dorsal), the mesosternum ( ventral), and the mesopleuron (lateral) ...
and distinct wing
venation
Venation may refer to:
* Venation (botany), the arrangement of veins in leaves
* Wing venation, the arrangement of veins in insect wings
See also
*
* Vernation
Vernation or leafing is the formation of new leaves or fronds. In plant anatomy, it ...
(if present). Larvae are also found in colder months throughout the year. They live in decaying vegetable matter and can be distinguished by their well-developed head capsule,
amphineustic spiracular arrangement, and are oblique/vertical.
Evolutionary history
The oldest fossil of the group is ''
Mailotrichocera,'' which is known from the Early to Late Jurassic of Eurasia.
References
Further reading
*Borror, D.J., C.A. Triplehorn, & N.A. Johnson. 1989. ''An Introduction to the Study of Insects'', Sixth edition. Saunders College Publishing.
*Krzemińska, E. 1991. Trichoceridae. ''Checklist of Animals of Poland. Vol. II''. J. Razowski, ed. Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków. Ossolineum, Polish Academy of Sciences.
*Krzemińska, E. 1995. Trichoceridae. ''Checklist delle specie della fauna Italiana. Vol. 62-65''. Pp. 17–39. Edizioni Calderini.
*Krzemińska, E. 1996. Trichoceridae. ''Brand-Stof. Een inventarisatie van der entomofauna van het Natuurreservaat "De Brand" in 1990.'' J. W. A. van Zuijlen, T. M. J. Peeters, P. S. van Wielink, A. P. W. van Eck, & E. H. M. Bouvy, eds. Insektenwerkgroep KNNV-afdeling Tillburg. Pp. 97–98.
*Pratt, H.D. 2003. The winter crane flies of North America north of Mexico (Diptera: Trichoceridae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 105: 901–914.
*Triplehorn, Charles A., Norman Johnson F., and Donald Borror J. Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Thompson Brooks/Cole, 2005.
*Petrašiūnas, Andrius, and Gunnar Kvifte Mikalsen. "New Records of Trichoceridae (Diptera) from the Island of Mallorca." Biodiversity Data Journal, Vol. 4, Issue 4. 21 Jan. 2016.
*“The oldest Polyneura (Diptera) and their importance to the phylogeny of the group,” Wieslaw Krzeminski 1991.
External links
Bishop Museum Fossil Insect CatalogPhotograph of adultImages from BugGuide
Nematocera families
Tipulomorpha
{{Tipulomorpha-stub