SAN ANTONIO — Are you noticing a lot of bugs that look like giant mosquitos flying around outside your home?
These insects look like colossal mosquitos combined with daddy longlegs, but they're not either one.
They're insects that experts believe are a bit misunderstood. When you learn their mission in life, you may think twice before trying to smash them.
We're talking about the crane fly. As soon as Spring-like temperatures arrive, crane flies are among the first insects to emerge.
They may look scary, but experts say there's nothing to be afraid of!
"We see a little boom right now," said Dr. Jessica Beckham, Associate Professor of Instruction in the Integrative Biology Department at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Beckham says while the crane fly is related to the mosquito in that they're both flies, the crane fly doesn't bite.
"Flying around right now as adults they don't even eat. They don't have feeding mouth parts," she explained.
Beckham says there's really no time for them to eat anyway. With a life span of roughly three days, these crane flies have only one mission: to find love.
"That is 100% their goal right now. They're looking for a mate so they can reproduce and start the cycle all over again," said Beckham. "It's almost Shakespearean, right?"
Crane flies are in their larvae/maggot state during the winter. Once they emerge as adults, crane flies are beneficial to the ecosystem, too.
"A really great source of food for other organisms like bats and birds. To be honest, right now there's not a lot of insects flying around. There's not a lot of insect biomass," said Beckham.
Crane flies will be flying around in large numbers for the next month or so. Most will go away by May.
"I don't advise killing them. They're not gonna do anything to you. Put it out of your house and let it go and find its love," Beckham said.
One common mistake people make with the crane fly is calling it a "Mosquito Hawk". Remember, it doesn't have a mouth. The name "Mosquito Hawk" would be more suitable for the dragonfly, Beckham says, since dragonflies do eat mosquitos.
So although we wish crane flies would help get rid of pesky mosquitos, we can still be appreciative of the role they play in reproducing food for other important animals.
"They've got the important parts," Beckham added, with a smile.