Flies, we swat them in the house, and we ignore them mostly, outdoors. Yet as Erica McAlister's book titled The Secret Life of Flies, shows, it is obvious flies rock!
Below is a small portion of the gallery of fly portraits taken in our yard in Jericho, Vermont (and one photo of a golden-colored fly taken in Jericho Research Forest).
Before you swat, take a closer look!
Each fly name is a hot link to the iNaturalist post. For more information about each, once in the iNaturalist post click on the fly name on top of the iNaturalist post, to get to the iNaturalist information page.
Flies are pollinators too
Flies come in many colors
Condylostylus patibulatus
Just in time for the lilac season.
Violet Leafwalker Chalcosyrphus chalybeus
Acrobatic mating
Eastern Phantom Crane Fly Bittacomorpha clavipes
Many have large eyes relative to their body size.
Marsh Snipe Fly Rhagio tringarius
This one has the Midas touch or at least the Midas look.
This fly looks like a bumblebee
Eastern Yellow-backed Laphria Laphria thoracica
Another mimic
Hover flies, of which there are many species, are a favorite of mine.
Globetails Genus Sphaerophoria
This species is an important part of its native ecosystem as adult Syritta pipiens flies are critical pollinators for a variety of flowering plants and the species supports parasitism by various parasitic wasp species.
Flies are decomposers even of other flies.
Some flies are cute if not adorable looking.
Yes, flies do rock - they are essential for maintaining healthy ecosystems. As Erica McAlister states, they pollinate flowers. They are excellent pest controllers, for instance, hover fly larvae eat the aphids that destroy our garden blooms, and they are a key food source for many other animals, especially birds. They are also very good at decomposing waste, a job no one else really wants to do, and they can indicate the quality of our water systems. - From The Secret Life of Flies by Erica McAlister.
Covered with pollen
Blera analis, the orange-tailed wood fly, is an uncommon species of syrphid fly.
Pollinating
Oblique-banded Pond Fly Sericomyia chrysotoxoides
View more Jericho fly observations at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=47822
Excellent! Thank you.
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