northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's a species of March Fly that's been identified as  Dilophus spinipes , a species without a common name. (They probably consider themselves "uncommonly good flies" for this reason.) Though there are significantly smaller flies, these guys are on the small side. I'm pretty sure those are goldenrods that the fly's on, and the goldenrod flowers are pretty small. These flies are somewhat noticeable because: Their black-and-red coloring stands out pretty well on the yellow goldenrod flowers. There tend to be a bunch of them around. It's easy to overlook 1 tiny, weird thing on a goldenrod patch; it's harder to overlook a dozen or more. Though they're considered March Flies, a group that tends to be spotted in (unsurprisingly) March, some species (including this one) can be found during other parts of the warmer months. This one was photographed in September. Some March Flies don't eat as adults while others are pollinators as adults; based on t...