Long-legged fly
Dolichopodidae
Long-legged fly · Great Dixter · 7 June 2025
A long-legged fly on the tip of a petal at Great Dixter in June, wings held out flat. These are flies of damp, shaded leaves in every garden in the world, and they hunt smaller insects on foot across the surface of a leaf as much as on the wing.
The metallic, oil-on-water sheen across the body is the identifying mark of the family. The males of many species have ornamented legs or wings that they wave at females in a courtship dance, which is a lot of effort for something three millimetres long.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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