True Flies

Robber Fly (family Asilidae) from Monteverde, Costa Rica.

A Lauxaniid fly, Minettia lupulina, from Iowa, USA. Many flies like this one possess what are referred to as "sponging" mouthparts - an elbowed labium with sponge-like organs known as labella on the end that are used to sop up nutritious liquids like that soda you spilled on the picnic table that's totally still good.

Long-tailed Dance Fly - Empididae: Rhamphomyia longicauda (Iowa, USA).

Erebid moth caterpillar (family Erebidae) being attacked by a biting midge, family Ceratopogonidae, in Belize.

Moth fly, family Psychodidae, from Chiang Mai, Thailand. These small, fuzzy Nematoceran flies are also called "drain flies," thanks to their occasional habit of taking up residence in bathroom sinks.

Mosquito from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

A mosquito feeds on my arm (Iowa, USA).

Robber Flies, family Asilidae: the fighter jets of the fly order. These sturdily-built Dipterans feed on a variety of other insects, often plucking them out of the air in mid-flight! Some members of the family, like this Laphria species from Wisconsin, are also convincing bee mimics. It is probably no coincidence that I found this fly in a field full of unsuspecting, tasty bumble bees.

Crane fly, family Tipulidae, from Thailand. These flies are often mistaken for mosquitoes, but are distinguished by their generally larger size and long, stilt-like legs.

Syrphid fly (Syrphidae: Syrphinae: Syrphini) on Queen Anne's Lace, Daucus carota (Iowa, USA).

A hoverfly (family Syrphidae) and a Spotted Cucumber Beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) chow down on pollen together (Iowa, USA).

At first glance, this fly resembles a kid who licked a frozen telephone pole, but it has a far more serious problem - it has been infected with a parasitic fungus, genus Entomophthora (Iowa, USA). When an infected fly is critically ill, it climbs to the tip of its perch, thus maximizing spore dispersal - a behavior that is suspiciously beneficial to its fungal assailant.

Fly infected by a parasitic fungus, genus Entomophthora (Iowa, USA).

Dolichoderus ants defend themselves from parasitic Phorid flies (Chiang Mai, Thailand).

Mating crane flies (Tipulidae - Tipula: subgenus Lunatipula) from Iowa, USA. Crane flies resemble overgrown mosquitoes, but are in fact harmless to humans.

Nematocera (Iowa, USA).

Nematocera from Iowa, USA.

Nematocera (Iowa, USA).

Oriental Fruit Fly (Tephritidae: Bactrocera dorsalis), a highly destructive pest species that feeds on a wide variety of wild and cultivated fruits in Asia. (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Marsh Fly (Sciomyzidae) from Iowa. Members of this family are also called snail-killing flies thanks to their larvae's habit of feeding on and parasitizing both terrestrial and freshwater snails.

One of the best parts of being a macrophotographer is discovering beauty in the unlikeliest of places. Before I picked up a camera I wouldn't have considered flies (like this peacock fly, Tephritidae, from Iowa) worthy of my attention, but I was clearly misguided.

Tachinid fly (Tachinidae) from Belize. Members of this family are known as protelean parasitoids; that is, they spend their larval stage as internal parasites, killing the host when they emerge as free-living adults.

Green Bottle Fly (Calliphoridae: Lucilia sp.) from Iowa, USA.

Soldier fly (Stratiomyidae) from Iowa, USA.

Peacock fly (Tephritidae) from Iowa, USA.

Long-legged Fly (Dolichopodidae) from Iowa.

Robber fly, Asilidae, with beetle prey (Monteverde, Costa Rica). The robust thorax (midsection) stores powerful flight muscles, allowing these impressive predators to pick prey out of mid-air.

House fly, Muscidae, from Iowa.

Syrphid fly (Syrphidae, also known as flower flies or hover flies), probably Toxomerus sp., from Wisconsin.

A pair of mating bumblebee-mimicking syrphid flies (Syrphidae: possibly Mallota sp.) from Roseville, Minnesota.

A tiny (~2mm), elegant midge (Culicomorpha) from Panama.

A fly with gorgeous eyes (Richardiidae) from Panama.

Cranefly (Tipulidae) from Panama.

Bee fly, Bombylidae, from Iowa.

Syrphid fly, genus Toxomerus, from Iowa.

Long-legged fly, Dolichopodidae, from Panama.

Long-legged fly (Dolichopodidae) from Jacksonville, Florida.

Parasitic fly, Euantha litturata (Tachinidae) from the Timucuan Preserve in Jacksonville, Florida.

Long-legged fly (Dolichopodidae) from the Timucuan Preserve in Florida.

Marsh Fly (Sciomyzidae: possibly Tetanocera plebeja) from Minnesota.

Robberfly (Asilidae) from Monteverde, Costa Rica.

Flesh fly (Sarcophagidae) from the Timucuan Preserve in Jacksonville, Florida.

I don't often describe flies as "cute," but this is a pretty darn cute fly. (Cocobolo Nature Reserve, Panama)

Mating Toxomerus marginatus from Iowa.

Parasitic fly, Tachinidae, from Iowa. This family of flies parasitizes a wide variety of arthropods, including 11 *orders* of insects, making them quite useful for biological control.

A midge with interesting antennae from Puerto Rico.

Limoniid crane fly, Gnophomyia tristissima.