No matter who you are or what you do in the world, there is one thing that we all have in common besides paying taxes and dying at the end of our story here — at some point, we’ve all been bitten by mosquitoes.
And this means we all know what a mosquito sounds and looks like, with its incessant and annoying buzz, and its long and dangling legs.
But what about mosquito hawks? Are they even the same thing, and should you be afraid of them?
In this article, Mosquito Hawk vs Mosquito, we sort the buzz from the real truth so that you can tell the difference between these two kinds of insects.
Mosquito Hawk vs Mosquito
Although most people walking on this planet are all too familiar with what mosquitoes are, most of us don’t actually know very much about mosquito hawks.
In fact, the majority of people believe that mosquitoes and mosquito hawks are actually the same creature, so you may be surprised to find out that this is definitely not the case.
While both of these creepy creatures are found in almost every corner of the world, and indeed they do look quite similar, their appearance is basically the only thing that they really have in common. And that’s because they are completely unrelated as far as insects go, and they behave in very different ways.
While both of these creepy creatures are found in almost every corner of the world, and indeed they do look quite similar, their appearance is basically the only thing that they really have in common. And that’s because they are completely unrelated as far as insects go, and they behave in very different ways.
Mosquito hawks, in fact, are not mosquitoes at all. They are actually what are more commonly known as crane flies, which, to make it even more confusing, are also not real flies. In some places, they are also called mosquito eaters, skeeter eaters, daddy longlegs, or mayflies.
The funny thing is, though, that they don’t actually eat mosquitoes (though the larvae do eat mosquito eggs).
What this all means, is that despite the supposed similarities between mosquitoes and mosquito hawks (or the many other names that they are called), these two creatures are actually very different insects.
In the rest of this article, we’ll show you how to tell both of these insects apart. But first of all, let’s discuss their similarities and why most people end up confusing the two.
The Similarities Between Mosquito Hawks and Mosquitoes
Mosquito hawks, or crane flies as we’ll call them here to stop any more confusion, are more closely related to mosquitoes visually than they are to black flies for a couple of reasons, including the fact that they have quite long legs in proportion to the rest of their body size.
Mosquito hawks, or crane flies as we’ll call them here to stop any more confusion, are more closely related to mosquitoes visually than they are to true flies for a couple of reasons, including the fact that they have quite long legs in proportion to the rest of their body size.
And just like mosquitoes, craneflies also have four small wings and short antennae, when compared to the rest of their bodies.
In addition, the larvae of crane flies, which are more commonly known as leatherjackets, live in water, just like those of mosquitoes.
Crane flies are also found worldwide, just like mosquitoes, except for in Antarctica, where the temperatures are too cold for them to reproduce on water because the terrain is covered in a sheet of ice.
The Difference Between Mosquito Hawks and Mosquitoes
So, now that you know the similarities between mosquitoes and crane flies/mosquito hawks, how many differences are there between the two?
Well, to start with, adult crane flies don’t really eat much. And if they do, then it’s only to take in a bit of morning dew or perhaps some plant or flower nectar, which is just like male mosquitoes do in order to sustain themselves.
And this is because crane flies only live for a handful of days, which is just enough time for the male and females to mate, and for the females to then lay their eggs in a body of water, like a freshwater pond, marsh or even a swimming pool.
Crane flies only live for a handful of days, which is just enough time for the male and females to mate, and for the females to then lay their eggs in a body of water, like a freshwater pond, marsh, or even a swimming pool.
Female mosquitoes, on the other hand, are able to live up to five months, or longer, in order to mate with their male counterparts. This gives them enough time to lay enough eggs for the next generations to hatch — and suck as much of your blood beforehand in order to do this process.
There are some species of crane flies that congregate in male-only swarms in order to attract females and use the group dynamic to search for their pheromones.
There are other species of crane flies that find secluded areas in order to form male and female groups, and they use these dark places to reproduce.
Another difference between these two insects is how their larvae behave. Mosquito larvae will stay in the water where they are born, feeding off other algae, and sometimes other mosquitoes larvae until they reach adulthood.
Crane fly larvae, or leatherjackets, are sometimes found in topsoil, and they feed on the roots and leaves of the fruit, vegetable, and cereal crops, as well as lawn grasses, and even ornamental plants. And obviously, this feeding frenzy of leatherjackets is very detrimental to the plants that they attack.
Overall though, because crane flies only live for a few days, and because they don’t have functioning mouths, it is actually impossible for mosquito hawk/crane flies to drink your blood.
In fact, just like male mosquitoes, they don’t even bite humans, so this is a huge difference that distinguishes these two insect species apart from each other.
Therefore, despite their quite large size and their intimidating mosquito-like appearance, crane flies definitely do not pose any sort of threat to humans, nor do they carry any diseases that can hurt you — unlike what female mosquitoes are mainly known for.
This fact is probably the main difference between crane flies and mosquitos.
The Final Word
Whatever you choose to call them — mosquito hawks, crane flies, mosquito eaters, mayflies, or skeeter eaters — these insects are completely different from your average mosquito, even though they look really similar.
We hope that you’ve been able to take away some knowledge from our look at mosquito hawk vs mosquito so that you no longer need to be afraid of the former ever biting you.
