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St Mark's Fly Bibio marci |
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Monks Eleigh Garden, Suffolk, England
The St Mark's Fly is so called because it emerges about the time of St Mark's Day, the 25th April. They have a short life
of about two weeks during which large swarms can be seen hovering with long legs dangling in gardens and near hedges. After the female has lain its
eggs in the ground the adults die and the larvae live in the ground feeding on rotting vegetation until they emerge again the following
April. |
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These photos are of male flies with much larger eyes than the females. Each eye is split in two with separate
connections to the brain. The upper part of the eye looks out for hovering females with which to mate while the lower part concentrates on the ground
to allow it to hover almost motionless in the same spot. |
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