FW: [NatureNS] Non-identified Critters

Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2006 11:10:50 -0300
From: Jim Wolford <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>
To: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
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Steve and Angus et al., I'm pretty sure this indeed is a CRANE FLY, but I
don't like to call them "daddy-longlegs", because I reserve that name for
arachnids called harvestmen, which of course are relatives of spiders, with
8 legs, no antennae nor wings, etc.  Cheers from Jim
----------
From: Stephen Shaw <srshaw@dal.ca>
Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2006 03:20:02 -0300
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Non-identified Critters

Angus,
The last one appears to be a large crane fly or daddy-longlegs (fly family
Tipulidae) not a wasp, though halteres are not visible in the pic.  Halteres
are club-like, supposed balancer appendages, found in place of the hind
wings
that are present in other winged insects. True flies (Diptera) all
carry a pair
of halteres, meaning that you can always distinguish flies from the bees or
wasps that some of them quite closely mimic (syrphid and stratiomyid flies
in
particular are good at this) -- just look for halteres.  One other rarely
encountered insect group has haltere-like front 'wings', but no other insect
group has them in place of hindwings.
Steve

Quoting Angus MacLean <angusmcl@ns.sympatico.ca>:
> A few species someone may be able to help me with:
> ...
> > What is this creature? It appears to have the abdomen of a wasp!
>  http://www.flickr.com/photos/58321572@N00/210500070/
> Thanks for any help.
> Angus
>
>

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