"In colloquial speech, crane flies are known as mosquito hawks or "skeeter-eaters", though they do not actually prey on adult mosquitos or other insects. They are also sometimes called "daddy longlegs", a name which is also used for certain arachnids.

Crane flies first appeared during the Middle Triassic, around 245 million years ago, making them one of the oldest known groups of flies, and are found worldwide, though individual species usually have limited ranges.

More than 15,500 species and over 500 genera of crane flies have been described, the majority by Charles Paul Alexander, who published descriptions of 10,890 new species and subspecies, and 256 new genera and subgenera over a period of 71 years, from 1910 to 1981."