Tiger Crane Flies

Nephrotoma is a genus of crane flies.

For terms see Morphology of Diptera.

Nephrotoma species have a lustrous body, appearing yellow with black or brown stripes and spots. If the body is black, there are coloured bands on the abdomen. The prescutum has three stripes. The proboscis (rostrum) is short and the antennae are verticillate. The subcosta (Sc) fuses with radial vein R slightly distal to the base of the radial sector vein Rs whilst no longer than the mediocubital cross-vein (m-cu). The first media vein termination (m1) is sessile, rarely short and petiolate. The m-cu is located before the base of the discal cell (d). The male genitalia segment Tergite-9 has microscopic black streaks at the apex.

The species are found in deciduous and mixed forests, shrubland and moist meadows.

The larvae live in soil and are sometimes harmful to agricultural crops and ornamental plants.