Entomological Etymology 6: the mosquito hawk
Have you run into a critter like this? Where I come from, this is called a mosquito hawk, because of their large size and predilection for eating mosquitos. Even though they’re big and scared me as a kid, my dad taught me to leave them alone so they’d keep the skeeters at bay.
Others claim the opposite, saying these are actually giant mosquitos with a terrible bite. Some say they have a venomous bite, although they’re rumored to be unable to break human skin.
But actually, none of those stories are true: This animal, called a crane fly by entomologists, is a gentle giant that can’t harm humans or other bugs: in fact, their mouths can’t even bite down. They can drink liquid, including dew or sometimes nectar, but otherwise they eat nothing at all as adults. Instead, they live most of their lives as larvae and only emerge as winged flies for a few days to mate and lay eggs.
There are ~15000 species of crane flies, and they have many local names. Besides crane flies and mosquito hawks, in Britain they’re called daddy-long-legs, although for me that’s a harvestman arachnid. Other people call them Jenny-long-legs, skeeter eaters, jimmy spinners, gollywhoppers, gallinippers, or skinny Philips in Ireland (supposedly).
For scientists, crane flies are members of superfamily Tipuloidea. The name comes from Latin “tippula”, meaning a water spider or water strider, also known for their long thin legs. Many crane fly species are members of genus Tipula.
What I get from most of these names is that people just focus on their long skinny legs, and don’t really pay attention to the rest. That’s how you get creatures as diverse as cranes, spiders, harvestman, and mosquitos all ending up with related names.
For a particular species, how about Holorusia hespera - the Giant Western Crane Fly - which can have a wingspan of 70mm.
The specific name Hespera comes from Latin Hesperus, borrowed from Greek hesperos, meaning Western, but also the evening, because the sun sets in the West. The root also gives us the word vesper, the evening star. Hesperia was the land of the west, meaning Italy as far as the Ancient Greeks were concerned. But for the Crane fly it means the western hemisphere, including North America.
I tried very hard to figure out what exactly “Holorusia” means, but I’m still not sure. I know the name was chosen by the a German entomologist named Loew in the mid 1800s, but as far as I can tell he never explained what it meant. My best guess is “holo-” complete, “-rusia” Russia, which doesn’t make sense since this genus is barely found in Russia. Personally, I think it’s a bit ridiculous for us to keep using a name without a record of why it was chosen...
What do they call crane flies in your part of the world?
Words covered: Mosquito hawk, crane fly, daddy-long-legs, tippula, Tipuloidea, Holorusia hespera, hesperus/hesperos/hesperia, vesper
Sources:
Lewis & Short, (1879). A Latin Dictionary.
Leslie Mertz ( 2015). Entomology Today.
Helena Horton (2021). The Guardian.
Orkin LLC (2024).
Douglas Harper (2019). Online Etymology Dictionary.
Charles P. Alexander (1971). Trans. American Entomol. Soc.
