- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It looks like a giant mosquito.
But it isn't.
It's a crane fly (family Tipulidae), also known as a "mosquito hawk."
It's a slender, long-legged insect that cats like to target. Our cat, Xena the Warrior Princess, loves to bat them out of the air--and then look around for more.
Most crane flies "feed on decaying organic matter, but some are predaceous or feed on living plants such as mosses," according to entomologists Jerry Powell and Charles Hogue in their guidebook, California Insects.
Don't worry. This gangly mosquito-like insect won't feed on you. You're safe.
![CRANE FLY, also known as a CRANE FLY, also known as a](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/1695.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
For my New Year's resolution, I resolve to turn over a new leaf.
Oh, sure, most folks resolve to eat less, exercise more, drink less, read more, stress less, save more, gripe less, and volunteer more.
Not me.
I'm turning over a new leaf.
You never know what kind of insect you'll find there or what kind of insect will "pose" for you.
Happy New Year! (And may one of your resolutions involve "turning over a new leaf.")
![TURN OVER A NEW LEAF--and there's a praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) TURN OVER A NEW LEAF--and there's a praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/1171.jpg)
![TURN OVER A NEW LEAF--and there's a crane fly, also known as a mosquito hawk. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) TURN OVER A NEW LEAF--and there's a crane fly, also known as a mosquito hawk. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/1172.jpg)
![TURN OVER A NEW LEAF--and there's a ladybug, aka lady beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) TURN OVER A NEW LEAF--and there's a ladybug, aka lady beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/1173.jpg)