DESCRIPTION: Up to 18mm. A typical looking Crane-Fly with a grey head, a grey thorax with dark grey stripes and an obvious dark stripe that runs from the head across the pleura. The abdomen is orange with a black line down each side of the tergites and the legs are orange and black. The wings are strongly mottled with a dark stigma. BEHAVIOUR: Typically one of the first species seen on the wing. Suspicion is that gutters containing mosses are probable breeding habitats. DISTRIBUTION: Widespread in Britain and probably under-recorded. HABITAT: Gardens, parkland and urban areas. PERIOD: The long flight period comes in 2 main batches, from March to June and then from September to November. |
