DESCRIPTION: Approximately 12 - 15mm in length. A yellow and black Tiger Cranefly with the main ID features being the pale lemon-yellow pleura, the brown edges to the dark markings on top of the thorax and the long yellow abdomen with a dark stripe down the centre. A series of black dashes can be found along the sides of the abdomen too. The legs are orange-yellow with a black apical ring on the femur. The wings are yellowish with a pale stigma. BEHAVIOUR: A delicate flying insect that can be found in good numbers in loose colonies. DISTRIBUTION: Widespread but local and becoming scarce towards the north. HABITAT: Open grassland, heathland; mossland and hedgerows, especially on sandy soils. PERIOD: June to September. |
