#rhagio

Snipefly in Ireland:

Hello, yes, this is one of the Snipeflies in the genus Rhagio.

It looks like a very common species, Marsh Snipefly, R. tringarius, family Rhagionidae, but may be another species.

Many fungi species use, and sometimes control the brains of, insect hosts to spread their spores (the fancy word is entomopathogenic). The most well known example is probably the "zombie ant" fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, sometimes known as "cordyceps" (taxonomy changes). If you like The Last of Us, this was the same species that evolved to zombify humans.

Anyway, the pictures above show a different fungus species, Furia ithacensis, which infects snipe flies (genus Rhagio). Once a fly is infected, the fungus makes it climb up underneath a leaf before it dies, its wings spread to make way for the spores. This usually occurs in the evening, so by the morning, spores ("fungal bullets of death" according to Wikipedia) are everywhere, and, when more flies get attracted to the corpse, they too will be infected <3

📍 Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina 🗓 Date: April 25, 2026 🐾 Media: Image 🌿 Species: Lesser Variegated Snipe Fly (Rhagio punctipennis) 📝 Notes: Slender predatory fly commonly found in forests, woodland edges, meadows, and shaded vegetation across parts of North America. Adults typically display mottled brown, yellow, and smoky wing patterns that provide camouflage while resting on leaves, logs, or low vegetation.

Often observed perched motionless before making short rapid flights to capture small insects in midair or from nearby surfaces. Larvae develop in soil, decaying wood, and leaf litter where they are also predatory, feeding on other small invertebrates within moist forest habitats.

Rhagio? Or snipe-fly?

Almindelig sneppeflue (Rhagio scolopaceus)