Most of the 15,000-plus species of crane flies in the world spend the larval part of their life living in water bodies, such as rivers and lakes, piles of wet leaves or in damp soil.

These are crane flies: not the typical daddy longlegs we see in August, but an earlier-flying species, Tipula rufina. Its larvae consume decaying plant matter, but the adults do not feed at all.

The crane fly legs and updated controller also protect the RoboBee’s fragile piezoelectric actuators—the tiny robot’s equivalent of an insect’s muscles.

RoboBee comes in for a landing Microrobot gets crane fly-inspired legs for soft touchdowns Date: April 16, 2025 Source: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Summary ...

The Harvard RoboBee is now outfitted with its most reliable landing gear to date, inspired by one of nature’s most graceful landers: the crane fly.    Publishing in Science ...

A crane fly lands on an Owl's Clover (Orthocarpus densiflorus), April 25, 2023 at Carrizo Plain National Monument during the "Superbloom" wildflower explosion, near Santa Margarita, California.

That's a misnomer, however. Crane flies are annoying, but harmless So far in 2025, Oklahoma hasn't yet seen the same explosion of crane flies observed in previous years. Their adult population is ...

Posted: March 10, 2025 | Last updated: March 10, 2025 Broken mobile crane fly can cause serious operational issues, but with the right repair techniques, it can be restored to full functionality.

As adults, crane flies spend most of their life motionless. "Most crane fly adults don't eat (nor have mouthparts to do so), so much of their energy from food in the larval stage has to last their ...

In “The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus,” a college student balances her new independence while investigating the demise of her parents’ marriage.

If you're finding your yard swarmed with flies, it's not just an accident. According to Dr. Jim Fredericks, Board Certified ...

The Key Differences Between a Crane Fly and a Mayfly The key differences between a crane fly and a mayfly lie in their taxonomy, morphology, distribution, habitat, diet, behavior, reproduction, and ...