4-H CLUB INSECT MANUAL 



33 



Crane flies. — Quite often one sees long-legged, awkward insects 

 which look like overgrown mosquitoes flying over the fields. They 

 are commonly called crane flies. These flies 

 vary from one-eighth of an inch to 2 inches 

 in length and are brownish in color with 

 mottled wings. The adults have lapping 

 mouth parts and probably lap nectar from 

 open blossoms. These insects have complete 

 life changes and spend the winter as eggs, 

 or larvae, in the soil. The larvae are some- 

 times called leather]' ackets because of their 

 leathery skin. Occasionally they warrant a 

 control measure. Poisoned bait is effective. 

 The male of the range crane fly pictured 

 here, Tipula simplex, has wings but the 

 female is wingless. This species is from 

 three-eighths to one-half of an inch in length. 



HYMENOPTERA (WASPS AND OTHERS) 



There is another group of insects that in many respects resemble flies, 

 partly because of their clear wings. This group is the Hymenoptera. 

 They may be distinguished from the flies by the number of wings. 

 The winged Hymenoptera have four wings, but they are often so 

 close together that it is difficult to tell whether there are two or four 



unless they are -examined at the point 

 I of attachment to the body. Insects in 

 the group vary considerably in appear- 

 §|p ance. Among them are the wasps ? 

 ants, bees, etc. For the most part, a 

 basal portion of the abdomen is re- 

 duced to a very slender, threadlike 

 structure, which varies in length, de- 

 pending on the species. 



Wasps. — In the wasp, this slender 

 structure is very long. The mud- 

 dauber wasp (Sceliphron caementa- 

 - rium) shown here is almost an inch 

 long, black with orange-yellow mark- 

 ings. It has modified mouth parts 

 for chewing and lapping. The 

 adult feeds on flowers, and the larva 

 feeds on paralyzed spiders which 

 the parent wasps store in cells. The 

 wasp has complete life changes and 

 overwinters as a full-grown larva in 

 the cell of the mud nest. The eco- 

 nomic importance of this insect is 

 questionable. 



Golden digger wasp. — Another 

 insect of the order Hymenoptera, 

 closely related to the mud-dauber 

 wasp, is the golden digger wasp. It 

 also is about an inch long, black or 



Figure 8; 



-Wasp. 



Figure 84. — Golden digger wasp. 



