Here is a photograph of crane flies mating.
Flies are one of the largest groups of the insects--actually fourth largest, behind beetles, butterflies and moths, and bees and wasps. Flies can be distinguished from the other groups because the adults have only one pair of wings. The other groups either have two pairs or none at all. Actually, in flies, the second pair (located behind the first pair) is present but greatly reduced and cannot function as a wing. Instead, it functions as a balancing organ.
One of the coolest looking flies is the crane fly. Actually, there are a whole bunch of different types of crane flies. They all look like giant mosquitoes, only with longer and skinnier legs. They don't bite like mosquitoes do, and they don't really fly around that much. I think they are just neat.
The larvae of crane flies lives in the mud in the water, and sometimes fishermen use them for bait. When used for bait, they are often called "mousies".
