Size Matters

The weather has turned and I knew it was going to be a question of out and about early before what was forecast as 'torrential' rain hit! We set out under leaden skies in the chill towards the river and it was dreary dull and dismal to say the least. Nothing was moving!

There were a quite a few dung flies on the leaves being easily spotted because of their golden yellow colour. They like wet situations so the riverbank is an ideal spot. The female lays her eggs usually in dung but also rotting vegetation and they in turn hatch into predatory larvae which feed on the insects in the dung heap.

For the females, size matters, preferring large males - a rare phenomenon in the insect world according to Science News! I personally couldn't possibly comment!

After pupating and hatching into adults they live only about 40 days with 4-5 generations per season. They predate and ambush blowflies while they themselves are an important food source for birds and bats.