Stiletto Fly
Ellura
Speckled Short-palped Crane Fly
Female, profile
 
                      
Speckled Short-palped Crane Fly (Conosia irrorata)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Flies (Diptera)
Family: Small Crane Fly (Tipulomorpha: Limoniidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Speckled Short-palped Crane Fly (Conosia irrorata)
This Photo:     🔍Female, dorsal🔎
Other name: Spider Cranefly

Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
~18mm long (head+body), ~60mm including legs which are ~15mm long each.
The thin posterior indicates a female; an ovi-positor. There are other images that show a wider posterior that are male clasps.
A native but also found overseas.
They usually stand with their 4 front upper legs together, which then slay out. This makes their bodies look a lot bigger.

Copyright © 2021-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 30-Mar-2021
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.