There are two species of Nippotipula in North America: Tipula abdominalis & Tipula metacomet. Both are included in the computer vision algorithm, but T. abdominalis seems to generally end up higher up in the autosuggestions and therefore has more misidentifications. Most T. metacomet specimens, many large Tipulas, and the occasional Nephrotoma and limoniid end up in the T. abdominalis collection. Sometimes you also find a T. abdominalis identified as T. metacomet.

Both T. abdominalis and T. metacomet are endemic to Eastern North America. They occur from Southeast Canada to the Southeast United States. There are a few records in the Great Plains, but any observations west of the Rockies or outside of the US/Canada are almost certainly misidentifications. Also, T. abdominalis adults fly only in the summer and fall. Any observations of adults in the spring are probably misidentified.

To confirm that a large crane fly is in the subgenus Nippotipula, look for two central, velvety black lines flanked by three lateral, velvety black spots, outlined in white, on the scutum (top of thorax, see photo). The wings are clear but clouded with grey, with strong, dark veins, and several small dark and white spots.

The two nearctic Nippotipula species can be told apart based on the color of the legs. In T. metacomet, they are uniformly dark, in T. abdominalis, there are light rings (sometimes quite faint) near the tip of the femur and the base of the tibia. Observations without a clear view of the color of the legs should not be identified to species.

@edanko @aispinsects

No curation issue.