Category Archives: Diptera

Flies. About 150,000 species. Phytophagous, predaceous, or parasitic on other insects. Blood sucking species vector diseases.

Best of BitB 2011

Welcome to the 4th Annual BitB Top 10, where I get to pick my 10 (more or less) favorite photographs of the year. As an insect macrophotographer I still feel like a relative newcomer, although with three seasons under my belt fewer … Continue reading

Posted in Acrididae, Anthribidae, Arachnida, Araneae, Carabidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Diptera, Fungi, Hemiptera, Membracidae, Orthoptera, Pentatomidae, Tettigoniidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Hover fly on mallow flower

I’ve mentioned before my reluctance to take random “bug on a flower” photos, but the colors of this hover fly (family Syrphidae) and the mallow flower (Malvaceae, possibly Abutilon pauciflorum) on which it was sitting were enough to capture my … Continue reading

Posted in Diptera, Syrphidae | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Bee Fly Parasitism of Tetracha virginica

I expected to gain a better understanding of insect photography principles and techniques at last weekend’s BugShot insect photography workshop at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Missouri.  I even expected that I would walk away from the event with some new … Continue reading

Posted in Bombyliidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Diptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

T.G.I.Flyday – Triorla interrupta

While I was visiting the glades near Calico Rock, Arkansas this past June, I went into town to look along the White River.  With the amount of sandstone bedrock in the area, I thought there I might find sandy loam deposits … Continue reading

Posted in Asilidae, Diptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

T.G.I.Flyday – Andrenosoma fulvicaudum

First, about the name. T.G.I.Flyday is my contribution to a collusional triad between dipterist Morgan Jackson, myrmecologist Alex Wild, and myself (uhm, beetles).  Although Alex blogs primarily about ants, he has long featured a “Friday Beetle Blogging” series.  I’ve also … Continue reading

Posted in Asilidae, Diptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Bichos Argentinos #14 – Flies!

A few miscellaneous fly photos from La Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur (Buenos Aires, Argentina)  taken last March.  I don’t have IDs except provisionally to family (let’s face it—flies are hard!). Copyright © Ted C. MacRae 20011

Posted in Asilidae, Calliphoridae, Diptera, Tachinidae | Tagged , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Forgotten Foto Friday: Eudioctria sp.

In keeping with my recent theme featuring insects from Shaw Nature Reserve, I present here a long-forgotten photograph that I took back in May 2009.  In fact, not only was this photo taken on the maiden voyage of my Canon dSLR setup, but … Continue reading

Posted in Asilidae, Diptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Itty bitty tiny little flies

Saturday was my birthday, and for most of my adult life it has been tradition to take the day off for the Annual-Birthday-First-Bug-Collecting-Trip-of-the-Year™.  At Missouri’s middlin’ latitudes, late April is normally a tad early—at least for the groups that interest … Continue reading

Posted in Chionomidae, Diptera, Psychodidae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments