Long-legged fly
Dolichopodidae
Long-legged fly · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 13 August 2026
A long-legged fly balanced at the very tip of a serrated leaf in the August border, its body carrying the metallic, oil-on-water sheen that gives the family its common name. They are flies of damp, shaded leaves in every garden, and they hunt on foot.
Active hunters rather than nectar feeders, working leaf surfaces for smaller insects as often as catching anything on the wing. The males of many species court with a dance, waving ornamented legs at the female.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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