A parasitic ant fly (Tachinidae) perches above an army ant raid. These flies take advantage of the arthropods flushed out of the leaf litter by the voracious ants to lay their eggs on escaping insects. Jatun Sacha reserve, Napo, Ecuador - Alex Wild Photography - Insect Photography

Flies

are the most underappreciated of the major insect orders. While they are best known for pests like the domestic house fly and their association with mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, in truth the harmful species are a small minority. These insects are the most adept of all the flying animals, they were instrumental in building the science of genetics, and they are among the most important pollinators of flowering plants.

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Young house flies (Musca domestica) fill an inflatable structure- the ptilinum- with hemolymph to break free from the hard shell of the puparium. Once free, the ptilinum collapses back into the head.

Urbana, Illinois, USA

Portrait of a common house fly, Musca domestica.

Urbana, Illinois, USA

Many species of flies use their wings for communication. This Ulidiid sports both pigmented spots- visible in the wing silhouetted by the flower petal- and rainbow reflections, visible in the wing against the dark background.

MacLaughlin UC Reserve, California, USA

Paragus sp. hover fly (Syrphidae)

Urbana, Illinois, USA

Portrait of a hover fly (Syrphidae).

Urbana, Illinois, USA

A pair of Nephrotoma crane flies (Tipulidae) mating in a midwestern meadow. The female is above.

Urbana, Illinois, USA

Larvae of syrphid flies in the genus Microdon are so odd that they were originally described as molluscs. The adults are more or less normal-looking flies, but larvae are predators of ant brood, living within the dark galleries of ant nests (in this case, with Linepithema oblongum).

Termas de Reyes, Jujuy, Argentina

Among the worst enemies of insects are fungi. This tachinid fly has been killed and consumed by an entomopathogenic fungus.

Monticello, Illinois, USA

A parasitic ant fly (Tachinidae) perches above an army ant raid. These flies take advantage of the arthropods flushed out of the leaf litter by the voracious ants to lay their eggs on escaping insects.

Jatun Sacha reserve, Napo, Ecuador

Canon EOS 7D |

More details: exif |

Original size: 5184x3456 |

Current: 800x534 |

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Keywords: ecology army ant associates tropical fly muscomorpha

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Flies

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