Ptychopteridae

The Ptychopteridae, phantom crane flies, are a small family (three extant genera) of nematocerous Diptera. Superficially similar in appearance to other "tipuloid" families, they lack the ocelli of the Trichoceridae, the five-branched radial vein of the Tanyderidae, and the two anal veins that reach the wing margins of the Tipulidae. They are usually allied with the Tanyderidae based on similarities of the mesonotal suture, this group being called the Ptychopteromorpha.

Ptychopteridae
Temporal range: Early Jurassic–Present
Ptychoptera contaminata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Nematocera
Infraorder: Ptychopteromorpha
Family: Ptychopteridae
Osten-Sacken, 1862
Genera
  • Ptychoptera
  • Bittacomorpha
  • Bittacomorphella

Life history

Egg

Ptychoptera albimana (Palearctic) has a mean of 554 eggs laid. The shape is slightly arcuated, "curiously ornamented", and roughly 0.8 mm × 0.2 mm (0.0315 in × 0.0079 in). Duration is reported at 7 days.

Larvae

The larvae are eucephalous and distinctive for the long, caudal respiratory siphon they possess. At hatching, they measure just under 4 mm (0.16 in) in P. albimana, quickly growing to nearly 80 mm (3.1 in). They occur in moist habitats (described as "wet swales and meadows" for Ptychoptera; along lentic shorelines and alder swamps for Bittacomorpha) where they feed as collector-gatherers on decaying organic matter.

Pupae

The pupae possess a single, greatly elongated spiracular horn protruding from their thoraces. In Ptychoptera and Bittacomorpha, the right horn is elongated; in Bittacomorphella, the left. Reported times spent in this stage vary from 5 to 12 days.

Ptychoptera quadrifasciata

Adult

The adults are found most often from late spring through to autumn in shaded, moist environs. Presumably, adults feed little, if at all. Two generations occur per year.

The common species of Eastern North America (Bittacomorpha clavipes) is known for the odd habit of spreading out its legs while flying, using expanded, trachea-rich tarsi to waft along on air currents.

Why they are called “phantom” crane flies: Their legs are thin and black with white sheaths near the tips, and when they fly under a shady tree, everything disappears except the white spots, appearing and disappearing like a “phantom”.

Subfamilies

Ptychopterinae – 16 antennomeres; M1 cell present

  1. Ptychoptera Meigen, 1803

Bittacomorphinae – 20 antennomeres; M1 & M2 veins fused, thus without M1 cell

  1. Bittacomorpha Westwood, 1835
  2. Bittacomorphella Alexander, 1916

The general appearance of the two forms is strikingly different. The species of the Bittacomorphinae are similar in size and shape to the Tipulidae, but exhibit a striking black and white coloration — hence the common name "phantom crane flies". The two genera differ as adults in their size and the extent of white coloration on the legs. The larvae of Bittacomorphella possess unique protuberances not seen in the other two genera. Ptychoptera species resemble large mycetophilids, being generally a shiny black and often with patterned wings.

Species

Scientific nameAuthority[1]LocationComments
Bittacomorpha (Westwood, 1835)
Bittacomorpha clavipes
aka
Tipula clauipes
Fabricius, 1781 (both variants)Eastern North America, ranging as far west as the Rocky MountainsThe most common and distinctive species
Bittacomorpha occidentalisAldrich, 1895Pacific Northwest
Bittacomorphella (Alexander, 1916)
Bittacomorphella esakiiTokunaga, 1938Japan
Bittacomorphella fenderianaAlexander, 1947Queen Charlotte Islands, south to OregonOften confused with one another in the literature until the mid-1900s, when Alexander delimited them based on the male hypopygium.
Bittacomorphella jonesiJohnson, 1905New England, south to North Carolina
also seen in Minnesota and Michigan
Bittacomorphella nipponensisAlexander, 1924
Bittacomorphella pacificaAlexander, 1958Northern California, north to Oregon
Bittacomorphella sackeniiRöder, 1890Sierra Nevadas
Bittacomorphella thaiensisAlexander 1953
Ptychoptera (Meigen, 1803)
Ptychoptera byersiAlexander, 1966California
Ptychoptera lenisOsten-Sacken, 1877P. l. lenis: Pacific Northwest
P. l. coloradensis: Colorado and Utah
2 subspecies, as enumerated to the left
Ptychoptera metallicaWalker, 1848Central Canada, Minnesota, Michigan
Ptychoptera minorAlexander, 1920California, Idaho
Ptychoptera monoensisAlexander, 1947Northern Californiasimilar to P. pendula and P. townesi
Ptychoptera osceolaAlexander, 1959Floridasimilar to P. quadrifasciata
Ptychoptera pendulaAlexander, 1937British Columbia, south to Utah and Coloradosimilar to P. minor
Ptychoptera quadrifasciata
aka
P. rufocinctus
Say, 1824Eastern United States
Ptychoptera sculleniAlexander, 1943Pacific Northwestconsidered to be fairly distinct based on male genitalia
Ptychoptera townesiAlexander, 1943Washington, Oregonsimilar to P. pendula
Ptychoptera utaAlexander, 1947Utahsimilar to P. l. coloradensis

Extinct genera

  • Subfamily. †Eoptychopterinae Handlirsch 1906
  • Subfamily. †Eoptychopterininae Lukashevich, 1995
    • Eoptychopterina Kalugina 1985 Itat Formation, Russia, Bajocian, Daohugou, China, Callovian Karabastau Formation, Kazakhstan, Callovian/Oxfordian Uda Formation, Ichetuy Formation, Russia, Oxfordian Sharteg, Mongolia, Tithonian Glushkovo Formation, Russia, Tithonian Durlston Formation, United Kingdom, Berriasian, Weald Clay, Hauterivian, Zaza Formation, Russia, Aptian
  • †subfamily Proptychopterininae Lukashevich 1995
    • Proptychopterina Kalugina 1985 Makarova Formation, Russia, Toarcian Itat Formation, Russia, Bajocian, Daohugou, China, Callovian Karabastau Formation, Kazakhstan, Callovian/Oxfordian Khaya Formation, Glushkovo Formation, Russia, Tithonian Ulaan-Ereg Formation, Sharteg, Mongolia, Tithonian
  • Subfamily Bittacomorphinae Alexander 1919
  • Subfamily Ptychopterinae Schiner 1864
    • Brodilka Lukashevich et al. 2001 Lulworth Formation, United Kingdom, Berriasian

References

  1. Alexander, C.P. 1928. Diptera. Fam. Ptychopteridae. Genera Insectorum 188: 1–12

Further reading

  • Borror, D.J., C.A. Triplehorn, & N.A. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, Sixth edition. Saunders College Publishing.
  • Byers, G.W. & D.A. Rossman. 2004. Preliminary survey of the crane flies of Louisiana (Diptera: Tipulidae, Ptychopteridae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 106: 884–890.
  • Stubbs, A.E. 1993. Provisional Atlas of the Ptychopteroid Craneflies (Diptera: Ptychopteridae) of Britain and Ireland. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
  • Zwick, P. 2004. Fauna Europaea: Ptychopteridae. In: Fauna Europaea: Diptera: Nematocera. H. DeJong, ed.
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