order
                        
                      
                                    Coleoptera
                                       “Adult Beetles”
                                  
                                    Coleoptera
                                       “Larval Beetles”
                                  
                                    Diptera
                                       “True Flies”
                                  
                                    Ephemeroptera
                                       “Mayflies”
                                  
                                    Hemiptera
                                       “True Bugs”
                                  
                                    Lepidoptera
                                       “Aquatic Caterpillars, Snout Moths”
                                  
                                    Megaloptera
                                       “Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies”
                                  
                                    Odonata
                                       “Dragonflies and Damselflies”
                                  
                                    Plecoptera
                                       “Stoneflies”
                                  
                                    Trichoptera
                                       “Caddisflies”
                                 family
                        
                     Ptychopteridae
               
            genus
                     Ptychoptera
            
                  “Phantom Crane Flies”
               
      Genus Overview
                  
               
                        10 species in North America.  Adults are pretty interesting as they seem to disappear during flight. They will glide in the breeze with their long legs out and barely use their wings.  A fantastic video of the genus Bittacomorpha shows their flight.
                  
               Characteristics
                  
               POLLUTION TOLERANCE
                        No pollution tolerance ranges defined.
                        FEEDING HABITS
                        
                                 Collector / Gatherer
Shredder / Herbivore
                        
                     Shredder / Herbivore
MOVEMENT
                        
                                 Burrower
                        
                     DISTRIBUTION
                        
                                 Widespread (east of the Rocky Mtns.)
                        
                     HABITAT
                        
                                 Lotic-depositional
                        
                     Diagnostic Characters
               order
                         
                                       
                                       
                                    Legs Absent
                                 family
                         
                                       
                                       
                                    Head Capsule Complete and Exposed
                                  
                                       
                                       
                                    Hooked Prolegs on 1-3
                                  
                                       
                                       
                                    Long Respiratory Siphon
                                  
                                       
                                       
                                    Mandibles Moving Horizontally
                                 
                  + Expanded Character List
                  
                     
               
            
                        Order:
                           Wings and wing pads absent. Eye spots sometimes visible, but compound eyes absent. Segmented legs absent, but sometimes fleshy prolegs present. Sometimes with distinct head, often without head or with head drawn deeply into thorax. Body flattened, cylindrical, or maggot-like.
                     
                     
                        Family:
                           The head is distinct and conspicuous; there are no segmented legs; the body has many transverse ridges or rows of small setae; the first 3 abdominal segments each has a pair of small fleshy prolegs, each with a single, slender, curved claw.
                     
                     
                        Genus:
                           abdomen terminates into a long respiratory tube,
                     
                   
            Lateral
               


