What the heck is this?

[Tapahtyn]

I know it's a type of fly, and I swear it kept looking at me and turning like a jumper. It was eating some bird poop and the wings kept pulsing back and forth. So wierd.

 

[Scorpendra]

unless i'm mistaken, it's a picture-winged fly (Delphinia picta). we got those where i live too. i think they're pretty cool.

 

[Tapahtyn]

unless i'm mistaken, it's a picture-winged fly (Delphinia picta). we got those where i live too. i think they're pretty cool.

they are indeed strange, not gross like the house fly thanks!!

 

[Paladin]

If i am not mistaken the pattern on the wings is used as a salticid mimic. In a paper I read, the fly would face away from an approaching salticid about to prey upon it and the wing pattern would resemble that of another jumping spider.

To test this the experimenters removed the wings and replaced them with clear wings only to see the death rate increase when compared to the death rate with the normal wings.

These flies are in the family Tephritidae and are your fruit flies.

I hope that this is the same behavior however I have yet to run across that fly you found so who knows. Interesting nevertheless.

Edit: That fly is not a tephritid....hmmmmm

 

[ZergFront]

That's cool. Wish I could get some just to mess with my jumpers. ;P