March 9, 2005 - it's bug time!

The old macro lens has been getting a major workout. First up is a tiny Syrphid fly (members of this family are also called "flower flies") – this one is poised on a blossom of our native Black Sage.


'Tis the season: a male Dance Fly will hover clasping a "nuptial gift" of food. When a female is willing, she will accept the gift (in this case it looks like another small fly), and the two will repair to a nearby leaf to "hook up," as the kids say, while the female enjoys her meal.

Here's an individual Dance Fly, probably of the genus Ramphomyia. The small knobs near the base of each wing are called halteres, and are thought to act as counterweights as the insect plies its wings. They are named for the hand-held weights that were swung by ancient Greek athletes to increase jump distance.

A similar scene, this time played out by a pair of brine flies on the surface of a pond near Kirby Park.

In the same pond, a damselfly pauses to enjoy a meal - note the small fly it's holding. It's a bug-eat-bug world out there.

This Ichneumonid wasp likes to hover near oak foliage and rarely alights. Ichneumonidae is the largest wasp family, and my guidebook says it may be the largest family of animals. These wasps are stingless, and all are parasites – some lay their eggs in the larvae of other insects, for example. "Ichneumon," by the way, means "tracker" or "mongoose."

Lest the arachnids feel left out, here's a shot of a burly little jumping spider. He looks pretty fierce, but he's less than half an inch long.

The same spider, head on. Is that an insect it's holding?

Want more insects? Click the "previous" link, below.