Tanyptera

Tanyptera is a genus of true crane flies; its species are lustrous and black and yellow or red in color. They resemble some Ichneumonidae. Segments of the flagella of males have three outgrowths each (two lower paired and the upper one unpaired). The antennae of the females are distinctly 13-segmented. The sides of the mesothorax are glabrous. The ovipositor of the female is unusually long, the valves being only slightly shorter than the cerci. Tanyptera spp. exhibit extreme polymorphism in the body colour and body size of the sexes. The wing colors also vary from smoky-black, brown, or brownish-yellow, to transparent.

Tanyptera
male Tanyptera atrata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Suborder:	Nematocera
Infraorder:	Tipulomorpha
Superfamily:	Tipuloidea
Family:	Tipulidae
Subfamily:	Ctenophorinae
Genus:	Tanyptera Latreille, 1804
Type species
Tipula atrata Linnaeus, 1758
Subgenera
Mesodictenidia Matsumura, 1931 Tanyptera Latreille, 1804
Synonyms
Flabellifera Meigen, 1800 Xiphura Brulle, 1832 Xiphusa authors

Their habitat is deciduous and mixed forests. The larvae live in dead but still hard wood. Tanyptera species are a minor pest in Russia where they are sometimes harmful to forest products. They are found in Europe and Asia.

Species

• Subgenus Mesodictenidia Matsumura, 1931

• T. angustistylus Alexander, 1925
• T. antica Alexander, 1938
• T. cognata Alexander, 1936
• T. digitata Yang & Yang, 1988
• T. gracilis (Portschinsky, 1873)
• T. perangusta Alexander, 1953
• T. stackelbergiana Savchenko, 1973
• T. subcognata Alexander, 1941
• T. tsurugiana Takahashi, 1960

• Subgenus Tanyptera Latreille, 1804

• T. atrata (Linnaeus, 1758)
• T. brevipecten Alexander, 1955
• T. chrysophaea Alexander, 1941
• T. dorsalis (Walker, 1848)
• T. hebeiensis Yang & Yang, 1988
• T. hubeiensis Yang & Yang, 1988
• T. indica (Brunetti, 1918)
• T. mediana Yang & Yang, 1988
• T. nigricornis (Meigen, 1818)
• T. parva (Portschinsky, 1887)
• T. shennongana Yang & Yang, 1988
• T. trimaculata Yang & Yang, 1988

References

• "Catalogue of the Craneflies of the World (Diptera, Tipuloidea: Pediciidae, Limoniidae, Cylindrotomidae, Tipulidae)". Naturalis Biodiversity Center.