#stratiomyidae

Look at this beautiful green soldier fly (Odontomyia cincta) that landed on my hand while I was sitting next to a pond!

Soldier flies are best known for the species that feed on decaying matter like manure and compost, but O. cincta is one of many where the larvae are aquatic and feed primarily on algae.

A tiny fly knight!

this sad old man looking thing is Stratiomys, a soldier fly that i found hiding from the wind on a particularly hellish day. most species in the genus are a lot less hairy and look more like a standard wasp mimic, but for some reason this one looks like this

oh wait fuck nevermind it's a walrus. post canceled everyone it's just a walrus again

Happy fly-day everybody! I’d like to show off this fly larvae that lives in a ditch on the side of the road by my local natural area! As you can see here, it’s using a caudal breathing tube, or a big straw on its butt, to breathe air from the top of the water!! I strongly suspect this to be Stratiomyidae (Solider flies) because of the choice in habitat and the caudal tube’s last segment being specifically longer than the others, but I could be wrong!

Soldier Fly (Psellidotus sp.) April, North Texas, USA

Violet winged soldier fly