Monday, July 14, 2014

Long Legged Fly

     I find the summer months to be the most interesting time of the year. This morning I took my usual stroll in the backyard with my camera. Every day brings a new encounter. Today I came across this little fellow called a long legged fly. I don't know about you, but a lot of times I see things and don't even know the names of what I'm looking at. Thankfully with the advances of technology, a wealth of information is just a click away. Here are some interesting facts about this little amazing creature.
  • Long legged fly is the common name and it's members of the order Diptera which means "true fly".
  • They are an insect.
  • Their bodies are iridescent and can grow up to the size 1/4''.
  • They are very small and beautiful to look at.
  • They have very long legs thus the common name. In fact the males use their legs to show off to the ladies ( Ooh La La !)
  • I call them dancing legs because if you observe them closely, as I did, they move around so much on top of leaves that it appears as if they are dancing.
  • They feed on thrips, aphids, larva of small insects and spider mites.
  • Their feeding habits cause them to be very beneficial to have around while growing crops.
  • They are what I consider a friendly bug. 


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