Are there flying spiders / harvestmen with wings?

The flying spider is more common in the summer months and at dusk. However, this is not a species of spider, as is colloquially expressed, but actually a species of mosquito.

Naming

The colloquial as flying Harvestman designated insects are regularly to be found under the name Schnaken. Its scientific name is Tipulidae. Despite their optical appearance that resembles that of a spider, they belong to the mosquito order. The spiders are assigned to the arthropods. Other well-known common names of the Schnake are tailor, Schnok, horse midge, long-legged mosquito and shoemaker.

Appearance

The main visual differences between flying insects and spiders result from their general shape and body structure. While spiders have eight legs, horse mosquitoes only have six very filigree and long extremities. In addition, the spider body always consists of two interconnected parts. The snak body, on the other hand, consists of a unit of a maximum of four centimeters on which the fragile wings can be found.

The Schnoken larvae are characterized by:

• about five inches tall
• brownish color
• six processes at the end of the body
• Pupation after several months
• the adult snake hatch after about two weeks

Damage image

When fully grown, the Tipulidae are completely harmless to all living beings, contrary to their allocation to mosquitoes. The animals have mouthparts, but they are not strong enough to penetrate the skin of humans or animals, for example. The insects are therefore only able to feed on exposed liquids such as water and nectar.

However, especially in the summer months, the snake larvae cause the shoots and stems to be eaten away on almost all native plant species. Young seedlings in particular do not tolerate aggressive predators very well, so that in the worst case they can die.

Tip: In order to correctly determine the cause of the damage that has occurred, it is advisable to examine the soil around the plant carefully. Due to the larvae size of several centimeters, these can be easily recognized.

causes

The larvae eggs are laid by the female flies using an ovipositor at a depth of several centimeters. The preferred locations for the eggs are:

• Planter
• Flower beds
• Compost heap

The larvae hatching from the up to 250 deposited eggs require large amounts of plant material to grow into an insect. These are then processed using the digestive bacteria they contain. The larvae prefer to feed on materials that have already died. However, if these are not available in sufficient quantities, the larvae move to the still intact parts of the plant.

Combat

Even if the flying spider is generally not dangerous, it is particularly annoying in the summer months. By attaching fly screens to the windows and doors as well as placing glasses that When filled with essential oils like lavender, lemon balm or sandalwood, the animals become natural expelled. The compost heaps are a popular place to stay for the winged insects. They especially like to consume the liquids that result from the decomposition processes. It is therefore advisable to keep the compost as far away as possible from the house or the apartment and the outside seating.

Other home remedies for adult long-legged mosquitoes are:

• catch by means of a glass
• attracted by UV light
• drive away by incense coils or aerosol vaporizers

The population of the far more dangerous larvae can be effectively contained with the help of the mole crickets. The animals also known as nematodes, according to some studies, reduce the number of pests by up to 80%. In garden shops they can be purchased from 10 euros for an area of ​​10m². In addition, it has proven itself in practice to enrich the soil interspersed with larvae in the upper layers with calcium cyanamide and then to compact it. The compression of the earth mass significantly restricts freedom of movement, so that the calcium cyanamide can be more effective.

Note: The effectiveness of the calcium cyanamide lasts up to two weeks, so that the soil should only be loosened again afterwards.

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