Crane fly
Nephrotoma appendiculata (spotted crane fly)
Tipula sp. larva
Scientific classification
Unrecognized taxon (fix):	Tipulidae
Genera
See text

Crane flies are flies in the family Tipulidae. They are insects. Crane flies look similar to large mosquitoes but, unlike mosquitoes, crane flies do not bite people or animals. Crane flies occasionally eat nectar.

They are also known as daddy longlegs around the world. The term 'daddy-long-legs' is also given to arachnids of the order Opiliones or the family Pholcidae. The larvae of crane flies are known commonly as leatherjackets.

There are about 15,000 different species and 525 genera of crane flies. This means that the Tipulidae (crane flies) are the largest group of flies. Most crane fly species (75%) were found by Charles P. Alexander.