#dagger fly

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Fossil Dagger Fly and Biting Midge In Baltic Amber

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#3537 - Hilara sp. - Balloon Fly

This one is a female, because it lacks the large silk glands in the forelegs, that males use to wrap nuptial gifts. If the gift - dead insects for preference - is sufficient, she'll allow him to mate. Or the male can be a sneaky bastard and offer a gift-wrapped husk or piece of debris, and mate as quickly as possible before she figures out she's been conned.

The Empididae (also known as Dagger Flies, and some genera known as Dance Flies moved off to their own family, the Hybotidae) exhibit quite complex and varied mating behaviour. In some the nuptial gift never contains food, and she's just impressed by the silk balloon. In other species it's the females that compete for access to males, and some of them have evolved elaborate ornaments to catch his eye.

Toodjay, WA.

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Dagger Fly

A dagger fly feeding on cow parsley flowers, at Titchmarsh nature reserve.

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The dagger fly, one of the most amazing looking insects in the Uk by Paul Browning Via Flickr: www.paulbrowning.photography

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Dagger Fly

A dagger fly resting on a thorny plant stem, in Glapthorn Cow Pastures.

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#1978 - Thinempis sp.

Spotted by @purrdence​  on one of the black beaches near New Plymouth in New Zealand.

A recently erected genus (if 1996 is recent) of Empidid flies known from coastal habitats in Australia and NewZealand. There’s five species - this is either T. otakouensis or  T. takaka.

Most Empidids are predators of other invertebrates, and are commonly called Dagger Flies.

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Dagger Fly by Oliver Andrews Via Flickr: A dagger fly (also known as a dance fly) sitting on an umbellifer flower in Short Wood.

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Dagger Fly by Oliver Andrews Via Flickr: Popped into Summer Leys #nature reserve this morning for day 13 of #30DaysWild, spotted a dagger fly.