flies
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Fake Bees
At first glance, you might think this was a small bumble bee. I did, and this isn’t my first bumble rodeo. But look at those eyes. In front of the face, not on the side like a bee. And the eyes are touching: this is a fly, a bumblebee-mimicking fly. Possible Merodon genus. Here’s another.…
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Some Flower Flies
Margined Calligrapher (Toxomerus marginatus) Mating Eastern Calligraphers (Toxomerus geminatus) Variable Duskyface (Melanostoma mellinum), male I think. Variable Duskyface female. Pollen-dusted Black-shouldered Drone Fly (Eristalis dimidiata) Dandilions and henbit deadnettle the flowers here. Plus, as an extra bonus you also get this recent march fly observation: Bibio genus something. Check out that beetle-like head.
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Lake Larvae
Larval… …something, or other. Many of them, in fact. I think these might be lake midges, in the family Chironomidae. And most of them seem to be just the larval husks, the exuviae, of the larval form. The westerly breeze pushed them all to one part of the Sylvan Water. There were a heck of…
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More Flies!
February 23 March 1 March 5 March 8 March 14 March 15 (two views of this one). April 1, and one I can actually ID: Black-shouldered Dronefly. Note the pollen on this specimen. Flower flies pollinate, too. Two more from yesterday. The mysteries of Diptera! PS: the answer to yesterday’s mystery photo: it’s the toe…
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Midge
Non-biting midge bigger than your average fly, characteristically holding his forelimbs out in front. The feathery antennae are reminiscent of some moths. Probably cold, letting me get the phone camera close up.
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Eristalis tenax
An early flying Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax). An introduced species. A bee mimic. Their flight season is long, from mid-March to mid-November, but this was the only one seen this day a week ago. *** Spring’s solace is dependent upon the winter, the bright awakening from cold and dormancy, the “green fuse” lit amidst…
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What Colors!
I can’t believe there are still fish in the Dell and Crescent Waters, since this male Belted Kingfisher has been around all winter dipping into the stock here. Here he has a goldfish. Usually they just scarf their prey down PDQ, flipping it so it’s head first and then sluuuurrrppppp! This bird, however, just chortled…
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Phoebe Again
The day after spotting an Eastern Phoebe in Green-Wood, I saw one in Prospect Park.Traditionally, one of the first migratory birds to show up here in the spring. This means they’re not coming from very far away. And as it gets warmer, some of them aren’t even leaving. This one made a dive down to…
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Out with the Year…
Not infrequently, a wanderer in Green-Wood will find piles gingko nuts at the base of trees. Or higher up trees, as in this example. Raccoons have been at work. Here’s another pile out on a big limb. And where there is poop, there are flies. I’ve really noticed the flies this fall: they can take…
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12th Month Insect
Diptera are the only things out and about now, and just barely. This fly was on the Dead Horse Bay beach the other day. A gnat landed on my nose yesterday as I walked down the street. Flies are hard to ID when they are not in hand. Out of a total of 80 iNaturalist…
Backyard and Beyond 