| Tipula lunata (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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Scientific name: Tipula lunata (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: French name: Tipule lunulée Order: Diptera Family: Tipulidae Wingspan : Body size: 18 to 22 mm. Biotope: Woodlands, meadows, bushes, parks and gardens. Geographic area: Palaearctic region. Observation period : April to June. |
Tipulidae, also called Crane Flies, are remarkable by their very long and fragile legs which can easily detach from the body. You can recognize the members of the Tipulidae family by the V-shape suture of the mesonotum, on the upper side of the thorax between the base of the wings, by their long snout and by they wing veins with two anal veins reaching the edge of the wing. The Crane flies of the Tipula genus are characterized by the sub-costal vein joining the radial vein (Tipulinae family), by the presence of a discal cell, by long legs and by thread-like antennae with 13 articles. The lunatipula subgenus gathers all the species showing a whitish lunule, just before the stigma, reaching or exceeding the position of the discal cell. There are many species in this subgenus including Tipula lunata, Tipula cava, Tipula bullata, Tipula fascipennis, Tipula vernalis, etc. There are keys to tell species apart. There are generally split for males and females. The following description is restricted to females and may be extended to males if I succeed in identifying one. The wings of Tipula lunata do not show any white marking except the lunule just preceding the stigma. The antennae are black with only the two first articles being yellow. The thorax bears two simple dorso-median stripes. The tip of the cerci on the upper rear part of the ovipositor are blunt. The abdomen does not show any well marked costal patches. |
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I think that I have been able to follow the identification key of females of the Lunatipula sub-genus to tell the Tipula lunata species apart. However I have hesitated about the tip of the cerci on the ovipositor that I have found rather sharp. I had to ask to an expert who indicated to me that the tip of the cerci appears slightly rounded and so it is considered as blunt (not really evident for me). So according to him, this confirms one female of the Tipula lunata species. |
André Bon March 2016