Tootfinder

Yet another episode of Galena vs Fly. #cat #cats #caturday #flies

On the topic of cats being jerks, here's exhibit no. 736. Orchid on the floor, again, due to Galena chasing a large fly from window to window without thinking, even for a second, that there might be consequences. #cat #cats #caturday #orchid #flies

Taeniaptera trivittata (Micropezidae) waving its white-tipped foreleg around like an ichneumonid wasp's banded antennae. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. #insects #mimicry #flies #diptera #nature #entomology

Small (~1.25mm) wasp that I've been finding in large numbers on yarrow growing in my yard. I'll probably never be sure, but my guess is that it's Aprostocetus anodaphus (Eulophidae), an endoparasite of Ozirhincus millefolii (Cecidomyiidae), which I've found on the same inflorescences in equally large numbers. As far as I know it has never been reported in North America. Please go out and check for them if you have yarrow and a macro lens. #wasps #hymenoptera #yarrow #achillea #flies #parasite #nature #insects #macrophotography

Today I love #AI ... for #GoogleLens ID'd the #butterfly and the #flies in this picture I took during a hike in the #Eifel mountains in Germany Saturday in a fraction of a second: #AraschniaLevana or Map or Landkärtchen (of the prorsa morph) and #EriothrixRufomaculata or Rotgefleckte Raupenfliege, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_(butterfly) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eriothrix_rufomaculata plus https://arthropodafotos.de/dbsp.php?lang=deu&sc=0&ta=t_38_dipt_bra_tach&sci=Eriothrix&scisp=rufomaculatus

Dark ricefield mosquito (Psorophora columbiae) near the Mississippi River in Vacherie, Louisiana. Or at least I think that's what it is. The species can become so numerous after a flood that cows can die from exsanguination. #mosquito #diptera #nature #flies #louisiana #vacherie #blood

Two-page PDF about smoke flies in Australia. #co2 #smoke #fire #diptera #microsania #flies #insects #entomology https://www.dbca.wa.gov.au/media/592/download

If you have an opportunity to visit a freshly-burned forest, look for pyrophilic beetles (e.g., certain species in Sericoda, Melanophila, Monochamus) and flies (Microsania). Some have specialized antennae for detecting smoke, others use infrared-sensing areas on abdomen or thorax to locate hot spots. #fire #smoke #weather #canada #beetles #coleoptera #insects #flies #trees #forests

If you are grilling or sitting around a campfire and notice small insects flitting around in the smoke, try to get photographs. Could be a smoke fly in the genus Microsania (Platypezidae). Very, very rarely found but likely because people are not looking. Sometimes even attracted to smoke-infused clothing. This pic from Portugal is the only RG observation on iNaturalist. #platypezidae #flies #diptera #smoke #fire #grilling #bbq #smoking #insects https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9396664

In the "Serves Them Right" category, mosquitoes can be drained of their ill-gotten meals by Culicoides anophelis, a ceratopogonid midge ("no-see-ums") that can stay attached for days. I hope the puncture sites itch like crazy. #mosquitoes #midges #ceratopogonidae #insects #diptera #flies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I66VySLTwW0

The rumors are true — Houdini flies are extremely fond of cheap malbec. Blog post forthcoming with tips on trap design, but if you have an insect hotel and want to kill these kleptoparasites, go get yourself a bottle ASAP. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #flies #osmia #wine #insects #malbec #pollination