Today's featured blog post features a species named as a bit of joke.
Come on, if you'd got too many species to name, some of would quite like a fly named after us!
https://matildaslab.wordpress.com/2021/03/04/bill-gates-eristalis-gatesi/
#biology #entomology #flies #billgates
Long body, long legs, long mouth.
These mouths were made for sucking,
So that's just what they'll do....
Eugnoriste sp. (a dark-winged fungus gnat; Sciaridae).
Collected from a Lactuca (Blue Lettuce) flower. Manitoba, Canada.
#Flyday #FlydayFriday #diptera #insect #sciaridae #manitoba #flies #FridayFlyday
@BBCNews Black soldier flies have beautiful eyes, and their abdomens can be bright red:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130806984
The "ugly" maggots are always hidden away, into soil. Whereas adults are beautiful and sleek, and are quite easy to recognise; with their distribution being worldwide almost certainly there are some near where you are. See a few that I've spotted:
https://www.inaturalist.org/lifelists/albertcardona?view=tree&details_view=observations&taxon_id=82177
Excerpt from "Gardening for Butterflies and #Pollinators" -- #IowaStateUniversity Cooperative Extension
"Common Pollinators in #Iowa
"Common insect pollinators in Iowa include honey bees [not native, and can compete and overwhelm native bees], #bumblebees, #SolitaryBees, #beetles, #butterflies, #flies, #ants, and #wasps. These insects are not selflessly doing a favor to the flowers. The insects are enticed to do the job with a reward of food. The food is usually nectar (sugar and water) and pollen (protein).
How to Establish a Butterfly or #PollinatorGarden
"Sunny Location
"Locate your garden where it receives the greatest amount of sun exposure possible. Insects such as butterflies and
pollinators are cold-blooded and depend on the sun to warm their bodies. Also, the plants on which butterflies and pollinators depend generally grow better in full sun (six or more hours of sunshine per day).
"Nectar and Pollen Sources
"Different species of butterflies and pollinating insects are active at different times of the year. Therefore
it is important to provide pollen and nectar sources throughout the growing season and offer various flower shapes and sizes. Plant in groups—not rows— to increase the likelihood of butterflies and pollinators finding and choosing your garden for a feeding stop."
Web page:
https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/resource/gardening-butterflies-and-pollinators
Link to PDF:
https://store.extension.iastate.edu/Product/5736
#SolarPunkSunday #GardeningForPollinators #GardeningForBees #Gardening
I used one of these yesterday. I confess it satisfied something atavistic in me
https://www.bugasalt.com.au/
#flies
Schlammfliege / Alderfly / Sialis de la vase
April 2018
https://archive.org/details/69160
#Schlammfliegen -> https://www.goehde.com/fotos/index.php?/category/45315
Dung flies. God love 'em. The larvae of most species don't actually eat the dung, but rather the larvae of other flies that are eating the dung. Like a lethal game of maggot tag in a pile of shit.
Here's a crappy pic of one I took chilling on a fresh cow pat.
#insects #flies #dung #diptera #Scathophagidae
@emmecola @TarkabarkaHolgy The plot thickens: flies caught in a ménage a trois.
http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130151539
#iNaturalist #Conopidae #Diptera #flies
Three real and one fake #Hymenoptera from Jericó, Colombia. #wasps #bees #flies #iNaturalist www.inaturalist.org/observations...
Absolutely insane: Dragonfly’s extreme loop-the-loops are unparalleled in nature
https://www.science.org/content/article/absolutely-insane-dragonfly-s-extreme-loop-loops-are-unparalleled-nature
Dragonfly's extreme loop-the-loops
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42691899
Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tapered_Drone_Fly_(Eristalis_pertinax)_-_Bergen,_Norway_2021-07-31.jpg
#DroneFly #Diptera #ArtWithOpenSource #Darktable #CCBYSA #Insect #Insects #DroneFlies #Fly #Flies #Animal #Animals #Bloomscrolling #Florespondence #Plant #Plants #Flower #Flowers #Wildlife #WildlifePhotography #Nature #NaturePhotography #Photography
Hoverflies: Identifying Platycheirus and Pyrophaena in the UK from Photos – by Matthew Vosper https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/80883/journal/100930
A really good and detailed guide.