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Insect ID Please

10 years ago

I currently have a cloud of these swarming in my yard in the afternoons. They look a lot like lacewings but they only have 2 wings. For some perspective on size, the wings are each about a quarter inch in length.
I just want to know whether I should be concerned about these.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Comments (7)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
10 years ago
Looks like a crane fly.
You're still seeing insects? Must be nice...

tj
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
It sure does look like a crane fly, but I've never seen one with wings that tiny.
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Larry, What a lovely green lacewing you have there. I love green lacewings and think it would be hard to garden organically without them because they are voracious eaters of pest insects. Mark, It is one of the assassin bugs, as Helen said, and is related to the wheelbug. Almost all assassin bugs are good as they prey upon pest insects. There's about 150 known kinds of assassin bugs in North America, and the only one I can think of that is bad (from a human point of view) is the kissing bug, aka the cone-nosed assassin bug, because those do bite people. Some assassin bugs, and in particular the wheelbug, will bite a human if that human gets too close to it, but they are only doing that as self-defense. Wheelbug bites can be very painful---similar to a scorpion bite. Dawn
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Ichneumon wasp, the only thing I can find with the matching wingspots, dark antennae, and striping is: https://bugguide.net/node/view/1227057/bgimage https://bugguide.net/node/view/1094990/bgimage
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tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
10 years ago
Be nice if I read a bit more thoroughly. Wings a quarter of an inch in length? Perhaps a Winter Crane Fly, but even that may be too big.

tj
jean001a
10 years ago
No, you needn't be concerned.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
But what is it, Jean? With wings that small, it's probably not much bigger than a mosquito! I don't think it's a (female) midge.
jean001a
10 years ago
It belongs to the insect order Diptera. Common members of that group are flies, mosquitoes, midges, crane flies.

Your creature doesn't fit the size or shape of potential pests of the order Diptera. Usually, very small fellows such as yours are simply part of the food chain.

So, you say that you have a cloud of them flying in the yard.
Sounds like a recent emergence of non-pests.
stepheninnyc
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you!
Glad to know they aren't a threat.
It had occurred to me that they resemble mosquitoes or mosquito hawks (which are crane flies, right?). I was just so surprised to have such large numbers swarming this late in the season here.

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