TIPULA, in natural history, crane-h, a genus of insects of the order Diptera. Mouth with a very short membranaceous proboscis, the back grooved and receiv ing a bristle ; two feelers, incurved, fili form, and longer than the head ; the an tenna are mostly filiform There are near ly one hundred and fifty species, in two sections, distinguished by their wings. The insects in the division A have their wings expanded ; those in 13 have them incumbent.
Most of the insects of this genus are very like the gnat ; they feed on various substances : the larva are without feet, soft, and cylindrical, with a truncate toothed head ; and feed on the roots of plants : the pupa is cylindrical, two-horn ed before, and toothed behind. The larg est of the European tipula is T. rivosa ; it is found frequently an inch and half in body, and is distinguished by the colour of its wings, which are transparent, with lai'ge dusky undulations, intermixed with white towards the rib, or upper edge.
This insect proceeds from a greyish lar va, fonfid beneath the roots of grass in meadows, gardens„&c. and in the months of July and August it changes into a lengthened chrysalis, nut of which, in September, proceeds the complete ani mal. This is known by the title of long legs, and is frequently seen in houses during autumnal evenings, when, if it be possible, it will destroy itself by flying into the flame of a lighted candle. This propensity- is common to many insects. T. tritici of Europe is a very minute in sect. The antenna are moniliform, lon ger than the thorax ; legs very long. The larva is found in the ears of wheat, to which it is very injurious.
The Hessian fly belongs to this Lin naan genus: it has been described by T. Say, in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, under the name of Ce cidomyla destructor.