Why Giant “Mosquitoes” in Illinois Aren’t What You Think

Everyone knows mosquitoes are a problem in Illinois every summer, but will we have to worry about giant mosquitoes eating us alive this year too?

Ok, I know that first sentence was a tad dramatic, but honestly every time I see a bug like this in my house or by my porch lights I completely freak out...

OMG! Just so we are all on the same page here, the bug featured in the picture above is like 50 times the size of a mosquito, and is that a giant stinger I see on the tail of it?!?

READ MORE: The Truth About Illinois Bees: What to Swat and What to Save

My husband, who is evidently tired of seeing me run for the hills each time I spot one of these giant, mutant mosquitoes in our yard, sent me this the other day and it calmed my worries a little bit:

So, that giant sucker isn't a sucker at all. It's a crane fly, and it serves a very vital role in our ecosystem.

Fascinating Fact About Crane Flies

After reading a little more about crane flies, the most comforting thing I learned about them (besides the fact that they aren't giant mosquitoes) is that adult crane flies literally cannot bite us because they don't have a mouth.

According to an article from the Forest Preserve of Will County;

Thousands of species of crane flies inhabit North America, and most do look a lot like very large mosquitoes. They can be as much as 1 1/2 inches long, and they have long, thin bodies, long legs and a pair of delicate wings. What crane flies don't have, though, is piercing mouthparts, and this is how they can be distinguished from mosquitoes.

Another fascinating fact about crane flies? Their entire life cycle only lasts a couple of months, and the adult ones that we see flying about in the summer only live a few days!

I guess the moral of this story is; the next time you see a crane fly buzzing around your lights this summer and you forget that it isn't a giant blood-sucking mosquito, just stop and breathe. It will likely die in a matter of hours, so there's no need to squash it.