 |
Flying with two wings |
 |
Flies and mosquitos are categorized in the insect order diptera,
which refers to the fact that they have only two wings (most other insects
have four).
Until I started paying attention, I never knew quite what variety of
flies there are, even in my own back yard. Some of them resemble
houseflies, but many are more wasp-like in appearance. Some buzz around mightily,
while others are so tiny they're hard to see.
Insects, yum!
Flies' appetites vary. Some of the more interesting ones prefer to feed on
their fellow insects.
|
This predatory fly (possibly a scathophagid) was carrying around a smaller fly. Since flies don't have
biting mouthparts, they can only eat liquid food. To eat its prey, it needs
to dissolve it in its enzyme-rich saliva. Bon appetit.
|
|
Robber flies hunt other insects for a living. This one is a hanging thief
(Diogmites sp),
named for the way it hangs from its forelegs while maneuvering its prey with
the remaining four. I'm not sure if
the wasp in the photo was its prey or just a bystander.
|
|
Yum, dung!
|
This dung fly (scathophagidae family) is grooming itself with its front
legs.
|
|
Multi-faceted love
|
These two little syrphid flowerflies (probably toxomerus geminatus) were
inseparable, flying from one perch
to the next one sunny day in early October.
|
|
|
Late October is still a great time to procreate, especially on a warm sunny day
with a fragrant garden mum perch. While larger than the ones above, they also
belong to the syrphid flies, in the eristalis genus.
|
|
Tachinids and syrphids
|
Tachinid flies feed on flower nectar as adults, but their younger stages are
parasites of other insects. This one, a featherlegged fly (Trichopoda sp.),
uses true bugs as its unfortunate hosts.
|
|
These syrphid flies, resembling small wasps, are quite abundant in the late fall,
here seen visiting a Sheffield mum.
|
|
The patterning on this Helophilus fasciatus syrphid identifies
her as a girl-fly. She's lounging on a pendent panicle of sea oats (Chasmanthius
latifolium).
The most abundant syrphids in our garden are these little Toxomerus geminatus
flies, recognizable by the little keyhole patterns along the center of their
backs. The one at left is a male, at right a female.
Blowflies
|
A small blowfly, probably the Lucilia illustris greenbottle. I see them
around throughout the season, usually on flowers.
|
|
|
Here's another one, probably also in the Lucilia genus, just as
irridescent, but with more of a bronze coloration.
|
So many flies, most of them go without ID. Here's a sampling.
This tiny thing caught my eye because it's so shiny and colorful. A long-legged
fly in the dolichopodidae family, a species of Condylostylus.
This one, also a Condylostylus, wasn't quite as small, and
more uniformly red in its metallic sheen.
Several of these fruit flies (in the Strauzia genus)
were roaming the undersides of sunflower leaves for a few weeks in early summer.
I think of them as punk rock flies!
This is a thickheaded fly from family Conopidae, most likely a species in
genus Physocephala. They look like slender-waisted wasps, but their
wings give them away.
Bee flies
|
Bee flies are furry like bees, but their other anatomical characteristics give
away their flydom. This impressive specimen of tiger bee fly (Xenox tigrinus)
was particularly attracted to me
and my shirt one day in August. The attraction wasn't mutual, but he looked
cool enough for me to take his picture.
|
Mosquitos and such
|
Looking like a huge mosquito, luckily this insect, a cranefly (Tipulidae
family) doesn't bite. Like mosquitos, though, it likes moist environments, and
its larvae are aquatic.
|
|
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| clifton | Sep 21, 2005 | i found the first two orbweavers outside of my work the other day. They were "fishing." The scary spider left, but the writer is still there, with a nice web and everything. |
| Alan | Oct 30, 2005 | Fantastic photos! Many of my 'close ups' are blobs & blurs. May I ask what type of camera you use?
Until this summer, I used a Canon A70. I now use a Canon A95, but find that it performs about the same in the close-up department. Canons in this series are known for their good macro abilities. |
| Jenn | Jul 18, 2007 | Hi- Great photos1 Also, do Tiger Bees bite? I have noticed a ton around my house lately... |
| noor vermeulen (the netherlands) | Jul 29, 2007 | about the huge huge mosquito(Tipulidae family) you mention its larvae are aquatic, maybe i don't understand that word correctly (in water?) but i think the larvae live in soil and feed on plant roots (damaging grass and lots of other plants).
We're both correct, as you can see at this page. |
| Tara | Sep 21, 2007 | Hey! Great shot of the tiger bee fly! I've noticed that everytime I see one of these guys they are attracted to people! Just like this one was hanging around your shirt... they always land on me- and hang out for a bit. I actually had one that would zoom right back to my fingertip everytime I'd flick it away- haha, like a circus trick! I wonder if it's the salt from our skin?? Anyone?? |
| Cheryl Lynn | Jun 18, 2009 | I did some research before making a trip to the Cook Islands, know for their ferocious human attacks. Luckily my local health food store owner knew just the ticket. Vitamin B1. That was it; take 100mg everyday for two weeks before the trip. I know that it worked because I forgot to take the vitamins with me and by the middle of week two, they were eating me alive! After I moved to Florida, B1 was a daily supplement. |
| reybo | Jul 26, 2009 | I came to see your photo and description of Bee Flies, and found the one who seems to be making a pet of me, the Tiger Bee Fly. Day after day he comes to visit when I'm on the veranda, and lands very close by. He stayed stationary against a white tile background for nearly an hour of mating, so I got some good photos. I'll try to upload one here. |
I welcome comments about my web pages; feel free to use the form below to
leave feedback about this particular page. For the benefit of other visitors
to these pages, I will list any relevant comments you leave, and if
appropriate, I will update my page to correct mis-information. Faced with an
ever-increasing onslaught of spam, I'm forced to discard any comments including
html markups. Please submit your comment as plain text. If you have a
comment about the website as a whole, please leave it in my
guestbook. If you
have a question that needs a personal response, please
e-mail me.
Last modified:
October 04, 2009
Contact me
|