First, two photos of bald eagles—named Desi and Lucy—from Stephen Barnard of Idaho. The second one came with a caption.
Stephen’s caption for the photo below: “I dunno. What do you wanna do?” (ref. Disney’s Jungle Book vultures)
Jacques Hausser, a biologist in Switzerland, sends flies (yay)!
I send you four batches of hoverfly pictures (in four separate emails). Here is the first one. I think my identifications are OK, but I’ll not put my life at stake for them.
JAC note: I’ll put the other three batches up in coming weeks. Hoverflies or syrphids, are flies (in the family Syrhpidea, order Diptera). They are also called “droneflies” (perhaps because many resemble bees) and also “flower flies” since the adults live on nectar and pollen. Note that several of these look like bees or wasps, and are almost certainly Batesian mimics of those species, having evolved so that predators will mistake their patterns for those of stinging insects and thus avoid the flies. A paper in Proc. Roy. Soc. in 2000 suggests that some species have also modified their behavior, flying like bees to further this deception. Remember, though that flies have two wings (“Dipteran” means “two-winged”), while hymenopterans like bees and wasps have four. But predators can’t count, especially when the wings are moving!)
Meliscaeva cinctella:
Syrphus ribesii:
Chrysotoxum festivum:
Eristalis tenax:
Finally, a bird from reader Tim Anderson:
This willie wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) is taking a drink on the fly, Tumut, New South Wales. It also takes flies on the fly.
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Predators, though, can’t count, especially when the wings are moving!).
And especially since hymenopteran forewing and hindwing are locked together by a hook and move as a single unit.
Syrphids are my favorite flies.
Love the Desi & Lucy caption!
Eagles are so impossibly beautiful and fierce-looking it borders on kitsch. Their beaks and brow have functional shapes, but they sure are mean-looking.
Eagles have an undeniable intensity about them, that’s for sure.
All the flies and flowers remind me of Summer…a nice reminder on a cold and stormy day in the NW.
That drink on the fly photo is great. “Willie Wagtail!” Now that is a funny name.
I was looking at the eagle pic and literally my husband from beside me says “What do you wanna do? I dunno, what do you wanna do?” He hadn’t read the caption first 🙂
Always nice to catch up on Lucy & Desi. 🙂
What amazing Syrphid pictures! It really pays to zoom in on them. Lovely halteres in the first shot. I guess that’s pollen on the wings? And is that green thing on the left of the thorax part of the fly or a plant part?
Each species has such different antennae.
Great capture of the willie wagtail, Tim. I love action shots! Interesting article on Wikipedia about this species.
To the left of the thorax, they are the “knie” of the first leg, slightly out of focus,and fly’s iridescent hairs probably tainted green by the surrounding (a Parthenocissus tricuspidata or Boston-ivy, in full bloom).
Ah, yes, it’s obvious, now that you’ve said it. 🙂 Thanks.