Crane fly

Crane fly

Yesterday one of our cats caught an insect. I only noticed that she was chasing something bigger than the usual fly and by the time she was done I could only see a few long legs dangling from her mouth. I was curious and had a closer look when she spit it out to show me. Cats often do that waiting patiently in front of their victim for some praise by the owner. Only after that ritual they devour their meal, well in this case it was more of a snack.

The cat

What she caught was a crane fly (Tipulidae) which people often call “daddy longleg”. Crane flies are often mistaken for giant mosquitoes. These gangly, spooky insects are completely harmless. 

Even scientists are having trouble to identify which exact species a crane fly belongs to. There are roughly 1,600 species of Tipulidae in North America and they very much look alike. I really need a crane fly expert to figure out what species my cat ate.