Fantastic, Unique and Weird-looking Flies

True flies are insects that possess a single pair of wings which distinguishes them from

other insects with "fly" in their name, such as butterflies, dragonflies, mayflies, fireflies and

many others. Flies belong to a large order called Diptera that contains about 240,000 species

where only half of these have been described.

Beetle Fly (Celyphidae)

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This odd-looking fly is the Beetle fly. It is also called Beetle-backed fly and can be found in tropical Asia and Africa.

As its name implies, it does not look like a fly but looks like a beetle. It is a family of insects of the order Diptera with

an estimate of 90 species. The scutellum is enlarged, forming a protective shell over the abdomen, giving them a

beetle-like appearance and like many beetles, it is often shiny or metallic in color.

Stalk-eyed Flies

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This is an insect that looks absolutely bizarre. It is commonly called the Stalk-eyed fly. It is an insect of the fly family

Diopsidae. The family is distinguished by the possession of eyestalks: projections from the sides of the head with

the eyes at the end. There are several hundred species in the family, with the greatest diversity found in the Old World

tropics, Southeast Asia and Southern Africa

The picture above is a species of fly scientifically named Teleopsis dalmanni. These species of flies have stalk-eyes similar to snails.

Dance Flies

These insects look like they are humpback due to their peculiar appearance. Dance fly is a family of true fly that

belongs to the superfamily Empidoidea. Some species are predators that run around on the bark of trees in complex

pattern, hence the common name. Three species of Dance flies are presented below;

Hybos culiciformis

Ocydromia glabricula

Bicellaria spuria

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Bee Fly (Bombylius major)

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This hairy insect is one of the most bizarre-looking of all flies. This large fly is a bee mimic. Aside from its unusual

look, this fly has some distinct traits too. Its eggs are flicked by the adult female toward the entrance of the underground

nests of solitary bees and wasps. After hatching, the larvae find their way into the nests to feed on the grubs. The adult

is 14 to 18 mm in length, squat and very hairy, with a wingspan of around 24 mm. Bee flies are expert flyers, and their

hovering habit has led to their being incorrectly called a species of hoverfly.

Anthomyiidae sp.

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The male that is mounted on the female on the picture above looks so different compared to its partner. The male's

lower body is much slender and hairy. Anthomyiidae is a large and diverse family of Muscoidea flies. Some species

are commonly called "root-maggots", as the larvae are found in the stems and roots of various plants. Some species

in the family are significant agricultural pests, particularly some from the genus Delia, which includes the Onion Fly,

the Wheat Bulb Fly, the Turnip Root Fly, the Bean Seed Fly and the Cabbage Root Fly.

Spotted Crane Fly

Crane flies are unique amongst true flies. They belong in the family Tipulidae. Adults are very slender, long-legged

flies that may vary in length from 2-60 mm (tropical species may exceed 100 mm). In some parts of the globe, they

are commonly referred to as Daddy Long-legs. Other common names for this insect include mosquito hawk, mosquito

eater (or skeeter eater), gallinipper, gollywhopper, Texas mosquito, and Jimmy spinner. There are at least 14,000

species of crane flies that have been described.

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The fly on the above photo is scientifically named Nephrotoma appendiculata or commonly called Spotted Crane-fly.

Instead of the usual shape of a fly, it has slender and long body structure.

Robberflies (Asilidae)

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As shown on the above picture, these unique-looking pair of flies commonly called Robberflies also has a unique

way of mating. There are about 7,100 species of these insects that belongs to family Asilidae. These flies have stout,

spiny legs, a dense moustache of bristles on the face, and 3 simple eyes in a characteristic depression between their

two large compound eyes.

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The above photo is a Robberfly scientifically named Zosteria sp. feeding on a Hover fly. The life cycle of Robberflies

ranges from 1 to 3 years. The short, strong proboscis is used to stab and inject victims with saliva containing neurotoxic

and proteolytic enzymes which paralyze and digest the insides; the fly then sucks the liquefied meal through the

proboscis. They attack other flies, beetles, butterflies and moths, various bees, dragon and damselflies, Ichneumon

wasps, grasshoppers, and some spiders.

Hope you enjoyed this. Thank you!

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