A reader recently suggested I write about a particular anatomical feature of the order diptera, which contains about 60,000 known species including flies, mosquitoes, crane flies, midges and gnats. Unlike most other flying insects with four wings, members of this group have only two. Evolution has reduced their rear wings to tiny club-shaped structures called […]
Flies
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HumBug: Dragons and Fairies
On a recent dry day, I took my camera out to the garden and got what may be technically the best dragonfly photograph I have gotten. A member of the mosaic darner group, named for the mosaic pattern on their abdomens, the California darner (Rhionaeschna californica) is one of the first dragonflies to be seen […]
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HumBug: Come Closer, Said the Fly to the Fly
Recently, scientists have calculated that spiders devour between 400 and 800 million tons of insects annually. Right now in my yard, though, on the fence where the white clematis chokes out everything else, there is a massacre going on and spiders are not the center stage players. Golden haired dung flies are chasing and eating flower […]
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HumBug: O Hideous Little Bat
American poet Karl Shapiro begins his poem “The Fly” with the address, “O hideous little bat, the size of snot.” No other group of animals is as reviled as flies. Annually, members of the order Diptera account for millions of human deaths through diseases they spread. The ones that pester, infect and disgust us are really only […]
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HumBug: Beacon Islands on a Dreary Day
It was sunny when I went to get my hiking boots but by the time I got dressed and out the door, it was 49 degrees and drizzling. I went anyway. The path down to the river was dark, the only sounds were the gentle “pok, pok” of water dripping from branches. The burning in […]
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HumBug: Unicorns, Fairies and Damsels
Some time ago I mentioned what I think of as my “Unicorn Species,” insects I know, have seen, are impressive in some way, but of which I have yet to get a good photo. Just a few days ago, with my brand new camera in hand, an anise swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) landed on an old Cecil […]
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HumBug: Return of the Zombies (and Everybody Else)
It is early April, and the world of insects is finally warming up. I’ve spotted more of the “zombie” flies, paralyzed by fungus, that were cropping up last year in early March (“Zombie Dung Flies,” March 1, 2015). I’ve seen a few snakeflies lately. These used to be included in the order Neuroptera with the lacewings […]
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HumBug: Serendipity
Taking macro photos of insects in the wild is kind of like hunting. If everything goes well you find a subject, get the shot and bag your prey. Unlike deer hunting, you do not need to carry home a dead animal and dress it out in the garage, there is no season and, as of yet, […]
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HumBug: Bugs in Winter
I got down to the river about 2:30 p.m. I was too late; the angle of the sun didn’t light up the ground anywhere. My little dragonflies were nowhere in evidence. In fact, without the sun on the ground I saw one fly and a tiny spider and a baby centipede under a rock. That […]
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HumBug: The Most Unlovely Insects
Butterflies and dragonflies can entrance us with their beauty. Praying mantises carry themselves with a slender, lethal elegance. At the other end of the insect spectrum, you can find the order of flies. Unlike all other winged insects, members of the order Diptera have only two wings not four. Di meaning two and ptera meaning […]
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HumBug: Flying Rods
The Van Duzen River provides me with endless things to see, photograph and ponder. In my excursions I have never once been disappointed. A while ago I watched a “hatch” of Mayflies (order Ephemeroptera) flying upstream against the gentle breeze following the river. There were hundreds in view and I could imagine how many there must […]
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HumBug: Zombie Dung Flies
A couple of days ago while working in my front yard, I noticed insects flying around down near ankle height. Taking it as an excuse to stop working I paused and watched. Soon enough one landed. I was able to identify it as a ‘golden dung fly’ (Scathophaga stercoraria), a species with which I am familiar. […]