Tipula paludosa
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Description : sometimes called " cousin ".
Often referred to as " cousins ", adult craneflies look like huge grey mosquitoes measuring 15 to 25 mm, with long, brittle legs, a narrow, elongated body, a head extended by a snout and greyish wings.
The larva, on the other hand, is earthy grey, cylindrical, apodous and around 20 to 25 mm long. Unlike other larvae, this one never curls up on itself, but its body, which is soft but very resistant, contracts or lengthens considerably and its head is retractable.
The eggs are black, rigid and about 1 mm long.
Pest : a gnawing larva
The adult is not harmful. It is the larva that gnaws at the roots, stem bases and leaves of young beet plants, causing them to wilt. Damage to older plants is not significant. The larvae feed at night, when air humidity is high and surface temperatures above 5°C.
Light soil with a lot of humus and cold, wet conditions are conducive to an attack, which can be serious but is usually only local to a plot.
