Tiger Crane Fly ( Nephrotoma suturalis)

Latin Name	Observation Date	Location
Nephrotoma suturalis	May 10, 2026	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh

When we get close to nature, we sometimes see some wonderful and rare scenes that fascinate us in an instant. I recently saw a similar wonderful scene in my garden. Two strange and beautiful insects were mating on a dark green leaf. The legs of the two insects were so long that from a distance it would seem that a huge mosquito was sitting on them. Without delay, I immediately captured some macro pictures of this beautiful moment.

​After taking the picture, I was very curious to know about the insect. So I uploaded the picture to the iNaturalist app and found out many wonderful and unknown facts about this strange insect, which I am going to share with you today.

​Common and scientific name:
According to the app information, the common name of this insect is 'Crane Fly'. However, it is specifically called Tiger Crane Fly due to the beautiful mixture of yellow-orange and black on its body. Its scientific name is "Nephrotoma suturalis".

​Species and Family:
It is basically an animal of the Insecta class of the Arthropoda order. It is a species belonging to the Tipulidae family. There are more than 15,000 species of crane flies in the world, of which this is one.

​Habitat and Habitat:
These insects mainly prefer to live in temperate and humid environments. Although it is difficult to specify their habitat, because they are spread all over the world. However, they are found in abundance in various damp places, gardens, grassy fields, croplands and near water bodies in South Asia, including our country. They usually like to rest under the leaves of trees or in shady places.

​Diet:
A very interesting fact about their diet is that a full-grown crane fly usually does not eat anything. Their lifespan is so short that they do not need to eat. Some adult crane flies occasionally drink nectar or dew from flowers. However, they are very gluttonous in their larval stage. The larvae live underground and grow by eating tree roots, rotten leaves, and grass.

​Reproduction and Life Cycle:
In the pictures I took, you can see their reproduction or mating scenes. Their life cycle is basically divided into four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult insect. Immediately after mating, the female crane fly lays eggs on moist soil or wet grass. These eggs hatch and the larvae emerge, which is the longest period of their life. From the larva, they transform into pupae, and then into adult insects. The life span of a full-grown tiger crane fly is only a few days to a maximum of two weeks. The only purpose of this short period is to ensure reproduction by mating and laying eggs.

​Beneficial and harmful aspects:
There is a common misconception among us that these are large mosquitoes and that they may bite humans or feed on blood. Many people also think that they eat mosquitoes. But neither of these is true.

​Beneficial aspects: Full-grown crane flies do not cause any harm to humans. They play a very important role in the food chain of the environment. They are one of the main foods of birds, spiders, frogs and other large insects. In addition, their larvae help to decompose dead organic matter in the soil, which increases soil fertility.

​Disadvantages: When it comes to their harmful aspects, we have to talk only about the larval stage. If the number of their larvae increases too much in a place, they can damage crop fields, garden grass or plant roots by eating them. However, since their number is controlled naturally, there is no danger of any major damage.

​All in all, the life of these small creatures in nature and their struggle to survive are truly amazing. The moment of their new life on the green leaves of the garden was a great subject for photography for me.

I hope you liked these macro photos I took and these unknown facts about the Tiger Crane Fly. Don't forget to share your opinions in the comments.

[ I learned about them from various sites including iNaturalist, Wikipedia and Google.]

(All posts are written in Bengali and translated into English using Google Translate.)
.
.
.

Camera Used	Samsung SM-G973F
F-Stop	F2.4
ISO speed	ISO
Focal length	26mm
Flash	No
Editing app	MIX
Photography	Tiger Crane Fly (Nephrotoma suturalis)
Photographer	@mshbd
Location	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh

Link to original community
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/360918591

Latitude	Longitude	Map Link
24.3360	89.1134	https://www.openstreetmap.org/?#map=12/24.3360/89.1134