Crane flies move south

At first, it seemed like a classic crane fly (Tipula) infestation, with fairways riddled with bumps that resembled the damage caused by burrowing animals such as moles (see photo to right). And when the turf was peeled back, a squirming mass of hundreds of larvae (also known as leatherjackets) was revealed, just as described in many textbooks.

But when superintendent Kevin Kienast, CGCS and assistant Franco de Jesus (Four Seasons, Aviara, Carlsbad, CA) first encountered this situation, they knew that…