More than one has been shocked after seen these alleged mosquitoes. They look like imposing and huge mosquitoes, but in fact they are Diptera of the Tipulidae family, also known as crain flies.
True mosquitoes are also Diptera but they belong to the Culicidae family.
They are thin, delicate-looking insects with long and thin legs, which can lose when they are attacked by predators (birds, bats, other insects…) to escape from them.
Without taking into account the legs, they can measure from 2 mm to 10 cm in the case of some tropical species.
They colonize aquatic habitats: from hypersaline and saline lagoons to fresh waters.
They do not bite like mosquitoes and therefore they do not represent any threat to people or animals. They are detritivores and/or herbivores.
In addition, females are not hematophagous, so they are not vectors of diseases.
They are not very skilful in flight, unlike most diptera, so it is not difficult to trap them.
