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[Matlock]

Look at those legs, those wings, those teeth! I'm afraid to go outside, guys.

 

[Phoenix]

looks like a "Mosquito Hawk" to me - a bug that eats mosquitos.

 

[jenov4]

I think that's a mosquito.

 

[MIMIC]

I see these in my garage sometimes.

Raid = good times.

 

[Matlock]

looks like a "Mosquito Hawk" to me - a bug that eats mosquitos.

But what if he moves up the food chain from eating things that eat blood...to eating blood?!

 

[Hitokage]

Does it have a fairly small body with a large leg span? It could be a Crane Fly. I used to see a lot of those in my old house in WA. My brother and I would shoot them with rubber band guns.

 

[Poody]

blood suckers.

 

[AlphaSnake]

I think it's a type of mosquito.

 

[Boogie9IGN]

I love these bug threads, that sucker has some huge legs

 

[SteveMeister]

It is a crane fly. Adults don't eat, at all. They can't bite or sting and only live for a few days to reproduce. Some species of crane fly larvae can be harmful to plants.

edited for accuracy

 

[mattx5]

It's a mosquito as far as I can tell.

 

[Macam]

Looks like the mosquitos I see in Texas to me. These things don't scare me, snow does.

 

[Ruzbeh]

It's not a fuckin' mosquito. Are you guys blind? Mosquitos don't have such huge friggin' legs. It does look like a mosquito hawk. Mosquito hawks are your friend. Because mosquitos are your enemy. They are my enemy anyways! Anything that destroys mosquitos = good.

I once killed a mosquito hawk because it freaked me out and I didn't know they killed mosquitos. If I knew, I woulda kept the bastard alive at all costs.

 

[Useff]

Mosquito hawk.

 

[Phoenix]

Mosquito Hawk

Crane Fly

 

[Phoenix]

But what if he moves up the food chain from eating things that eat blood...to eating blood?!

Then it'd just be a big, fairly slow moving and relatively easy to kill mosquito

 

[impirius]

I found a mosquito hawk when I first moved into this apartment and made him my pet!

...he died the next day.

 

[olimario]

Hawk
Harmless
Keep it around if you hate mosquitos
We have tons of the hawks here in Houston

 

[ChrisReid]

I see the picture comparison, but they don't look much different. What's the difference between a Mosquito Eater and a Crane Fly?

 

[Mashing]

It looks like their abdomen's are the only difference.

And yes, these are indeed your friend. f00king mosquitos.

 

[Desperado]

I love mosquito hawks. I don't see enough of them around here.

 

[Error Macro]

Mosquito Hawk, eh? I don't know if we have those here in So Cal, but I hope we do. The West Nile virus is quite scary.

 

[Ruzbeh]

I see the picture comparison, but they don't look much different. What's the difference between a Mosquito Eater and a Crane Fly?

They're the same. :lol That was the point. I just read that the term mosquito hawk can refer to dragonflies and crane flies.

I found a mosquito hawk when I first moved into this apartment and made him my pet!

...he died the next day.

They only live for a few days, I read.

Gotta love wikipedia.

 

[distantmantra]

I see the picture comparison, but they don't look much different. What's the difference between a Mosquito Eater and a Crane Fly?

No difference. Crane Fly is their name, people just refer to them as mosquito eaters even though they don't eat mosquitos.

 

[Crispy]

I slept with one of those things (on my ceiling) last night.

 

[Phoenix]

Crane Fly is actually a generalization for a large number of things in the same family which is where Mosquito Hawks are. Its almost like looking at a picture of a beagle and simply calling it a hound... its not incorrect, its just not 'specific'.

 

[Ruzbeh]

So crane flies don't eat mosquitos or mosquito eggs?

 

[SteveMeister]

"Mosquito hawk" isn't a recognized species name. It's a misnomer anyway -- the giant flies like the picture at the top of the thread that look like mosquitoes are crane fly variants, and none of the adults can even eat, let alone bite or sting.

Sometimes dragonflies are called mosquito hawks -- but that's because they actually eat mosquitoes and their larvae.