THREE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FLYING INSECTS

                                          Figure 1. "Crane fly."

Tipula planicornis (has a large-sized body about 1 3/4 inches long) and very long and thin legs. This insect somewhat resembles a very large mosquito, as it has a long body and long legs. It also has brownish wings. It feeds on nectar and is active all year. There are three living species of this crane fly in the Los Angeles area (Hogue, 2015) p. 248).

Figure 2. "Western leaf-footed bug." 

The second insect featured in this blog post is Leptoglossus clypealis, the “western leaf-footed bug.” It is classified as being in family Coridae. This insect is 18-19 mm long. It is brown with a flared [triangular shaped arrow-head like] flat extension on its rear legs. It also has a white, zig-zag band across its wings (Hogue, 2015). This insect is commonly found on Jupiter trees, but it can be a pest on agriculture crops. 

                                   

                                   Figure 3. "Brown Stink Bug"

The third insect featured in this blog is Euschistus servus?, or the “brown stink bug.” It is dark colored, with a “shield-shaped” body. It can grow to a length of 13 mm. It attacks peaches, tomatos, bans, corn, squashi, etc. There are at least 20 described species, and they are active during the day (Wikipedia, 2026). Theses kind of bugs, like the other two species mentioned here are active during the day and can produce  an acrid-smelling vapor which discourages its enemies (Hogue and Hogue, 2025). The geologic time range of “stink bugs,” is early Triassic (250 230 million years ago to Recent (Wikipedia, 2026. 

Reference

Hogue, C.L. [revised by J.N. Hogue] 2015. Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, 3^rd ed. Natural History Museum of the Los Angeles Basin, 479 pp.