Crane Fly

Crane flies are long-legged, slender flies of the family Tipulidae, one of the largest fly families, often mistaken for giant mosquitoes though they neither bite nor sting. Many adults are short-lived and do not feed at all, living only long enough to mate and lay eggs, while their larvae, known as leatherjackets, live in soil, leaf litter or water and feed on roots, decaying plant matter and other organic debris, occasionally becoming pests of lawns and crops in large numbers.