Nine PM, Saturday night. We backed into my spot on the driveway. As I was still gathering my things, S2 called out, "Dad, you better get your camera and take a picture of this already... then kill it so I can go inside." Why do these kids think I have to kill any bug they don't like?
.
"Whoa! What on earth is that?!! I've never seen anything like it! It's too dark. Hang on, Son. Lemme get that second flash out of the trunk.".
This thing was about two inches long, not counting the legs. I haven't figured out what it is, but are those cornicles sticking out of the thorax?!.
I took a few pics, but didn't see it bothering anybody, so I left it right there, unharmed..
Thanks to Fishing Guy we have an update: The Crane Fly (also called Mosquito Hawk) is harmless. The pointy tip at the end of the abdomen indicates that this one is female. The knobby protrusions are not cornicles as I had guessed, but halteres. They supposedly act like stabilizers, which is funny, because these things look clumsy when they fly.
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