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European Crane Fly  LIFE CYCLE There are several accounts of the European Crane Fly life cycle, but none so thorough as that by Jackson and Campbell, 1975. Adult crane flies emerge from the soil of lawns, pastures, and other grass areas from late August to mid-September. This can vary at both extremes depending on the year. The females mate and lay eggs in grass within 24 hours after emerging. These eggs hatch into small, gray-brown, wormlike larvae, which develop a tough skin; they are commonly called "leatherjackets". The leatherjackets feed on the roots and crowns of clover and grass during the fall. They winter in the leatherjacket stage. As the weather warms in the spring, they continue to feed. Damage by their feeding may become especially noticeable in March and April. During the day, leatherjackets mostly stay underground, but on damp, warm nights they come to the surface to feed on the aboveground parts of many plants. Leatherjacket feeding stops about mid-May. Leatherjackets go into a nonfeeding stage just below the soil surface during July and August. From late August through September pupae wriggle to the surface and the adult crane flies emerge (Antonelli and Stahnke, 1998). It's important to point out that two years ago a second turf damaging crane fly made its appearance in the Northwest. This crane fly is called the common crane fly (Tipula oleracea L.) and is extremely similar in appearance to the European Crane Fly. In fact, the larvae are nearly impossible to separate (LaGasa and Antonelli, 2000). The adults, however, can be distinguished with certain eye feature differences. The arrival of the common crane fly complicates current management recommendations inasmuch as there are two generations per year where European Crane Fly has but one. Common crane fly has an early adult emergence in April and May as well as second emergence along with T. paludosa in August and September (LaGasa and Antonelli, 2000). We are currently assessing timing recommendations to deal with both species. Previous Next				In this paper: Introduction Life Cycle Current Management Practices Management Techniques - Past & Current Bibliography Printer-friendly format combines all sections of this paper See also: "They don't drive Harleys" - by Craig MacConnell "ECF & CCF" - by Sharon Collman "Managing ECF in Whatcom Co." - by Todd Murray and Scarlet Tang
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