Put on your entomologist hat and ID this fly

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

08/26/2009 11:49:22 PM · #1

These things have invaded our house. I killed 50 of them last night, and there are more back tonight. They're about 3mm (1/8 inch) long. They pretty much just sit up on the ceiling unless disturbed.

When I kill one, it leaves a little bloody smear, like a mosquito. So I'm pretty sure they're feeding on something living, as opposed to being fruit flies. But we're not all itching, so maybe it's our dog or the guinea pig?

To the naked eye, they appear pretty much solid black, and only when you look at the body really closely do you see muddy yellow stripes.

Know what they are?

Message edited by author 2009-08-26 23:50:40.

Jaded_Housewife

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

08/26/2009 11:54:07 PM · #2

Ick. I have no idea but I'm sorry you have to deal with them..yiiiiick. We've had three pesky flies in the house all week and that's bad enough! I'm not fast enough to safely catch them and I'm not o.k with killing them so currently we are cohabitating. :P
I hope you figure it out!

JLSmith

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

08/26/2009 11:59:47 PM · #3

It looks like it's a tsetse fly. I checked and other pictures on the web look just like it. They are blood suckers. The only thing is they are from Africa, and the nose doesn't look long.

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

08/27/2009 12:04:09 AM · #4

Originally posted by JLSmith:

It looks like it's a tsetse fly. I checked and other pictures on the web look just like it. They are blood suckers. The only thing is they are from Africa, and the nose doesn't look long.

Err ... we live in Virginia.

vtruan

Nikon D5100

Tamron AF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical for Nikon

08/27/2009 12:59:10 AM · #5

It looks like a flesh fly.

08/27/2009 01:03:31 AM · #6

Do you have a dorsal view?

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

08/27/2009 08:28:31 AM · #7

Originally posted by vtruan:

It looks like a flesh fly.

Flesh flies are much bigger - bigger than house flies. These things are much smaller than house flies.

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

08/27/2009 08:28:55 AM · #8

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

Do you have a dorsal view?

No, but maybe I'll manage to kill another one without flattening it and try again.

Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD MACRO w/Canon Nikon mount

08/27/2009 08:35:56 AM · #9

Originally posted by levyj413:

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:
Do you have a dorsal view?
No, but maybe I'll manage to kill another one without flattening it and try again.

K. My initial guess is a Paralimna punctipennis for the time being, but I'm not very firm on that due to the lack of a dorsal view.

JulietNN

Canon EOS R7

08/27/2009 09:21:42 AM · #10

I had no idea you had so many flies in Virginia !!!

//images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=//www.dpughphoto.com/images/virginia%2520flower%2520fly%2520durham%2520102008.JPG&imgrefurl=//www.dpughphoto.com/flies.htm&usg=__50bB-pLlvSHn78Rspge-2vpvNdw=&h=415&w=482&sz=51&hl=en&start=16&um=1&tbnid=Ke67O5ots8K6OM:&tbnh=111&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dinsect%2Bflys%2Bin%2Bvirginia%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1C1GGLS_en-USUS299US303%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

Jedusi

08/27/2009 09:24:17 AM · #11

Originally posted by levyj413:

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:
Do you have a dorsal view?
No, but maybe I'll manage to kill another one without flattening it and try again.

Get a couple of them to read the 'Rant' Threads until they pass out - then take a picture of them :- )

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

08/28/2009 05:29:21 PM · #12

So ... no luck. :/

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

08/28/2009 05:36:56 PM · #13

*Looks* just like one of many deer flies or horse flies, which would fit in with the blood. Perhaps the small size is accounted for by them being newly-hatched? Which might explain how you came to be suddenly invaded by so many at once?

R.

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

08/28/2009 05:39:39 PM · #14

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Not bad thinking. But they don't seem to get any bigger. I've had a couple more swatting runs, but I've never gotten all of them.

Art Roflmao

Canon EOS-6D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/29/2009 04:56:04 AM · #15

Originally posted by levyj413:

Put on your entomologist hat and ID this fly

...I got nuthin.

08/29/2009 09:59:24 PM · #16

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Flys have complete metamorphosis. Adults are adult size no matter how "old" as adults they are.

What did you think of my ID? Size and coloring are similar from what I could tell, as well as range.
The head structure isn't correct for a deer/horse fly, so that's why I went where I did with the ID.

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

09/03/2009 02:21:08 AM · #17

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

What did you think of my ID? Size and coloring are similar from what I could tell, as well as range.
The head structure isn't correct for a deer/horse fly, so that's why I went where I did with the ID.

Thanks.

I don't know enough to have an opinion.

Do you have a link to a pic? I searched on that name but found only text references.

Message edited by author 2009-09-03 02:21:39.

09/03/2009 02:36:58 AM · #18

Originally posted by levyj413:

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

What did you think of my ID? Size and coloring are similar from what I could tell, as well as range.
The head structure isn't correct for a deer/horse fly, so that's why I went where I did with the ID.

Thanks.

I don't know enough to have an opinion.

Do you have a link to a pic? I searched on that name but found only text references.

pic

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

09/03/2009 07:56:26 PM · #19

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

Originally posted by levyj413:

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

What did you think of my ID? Size and coloring are similar from what I could tell, as well as range.
The head structure isn't correct for a deer/horse fly, so that's why I went where I did with the ID.

Thanks.

I don't know enough to have an opinion.

Do you have a link to a pic? I searched on that name but found only text references.

pic

Ooh, that's looking very good! I've managed to take a decent dorsal shot, but no time to upload at the moment. Will try after dinner.

I'm not finding anything about what it eats or where it breeds. I keep getting lost in highly technical papers. Got anything?

And how in the world did you ID it? :)

Message edited by author 2009-09-03 22:55:12.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

09/03/2009 11:44:01 PM · #20

Originally posted by levyj413:

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

Originally posted by levyj413:

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

What did you think of my ID? Size and coloring are similar from what I could tell, as well as range.
The head structure isn't correct for a deer/horse fly, so that's why I went where I did with the ID.

Thanks.

I don't know enough to have an opinion.

Do you have a link to a pic? I searched on that name but found only text references.

pic

Ooh, that's looking very good! I've managed to take a decent dorsal shot, but no time to upload at the moment. Will try after dinner.

I'm not finding anything about what it eats or where it breeds. I keep getting lost in highly technical papers. Got anything?

And how in the world did you ID it? :)

To be fair, I'm not super confident down to that exact species but there was a pic that I found (and thought I had put up earlier... my mistake) so you could see it. I think the genus is a good guess though, and I'm pretty much positive it's from Ephydridae (family). To my knowledge, they are harmless to people other than being a nuisance, particularly because they occasionally emerge in great numbers. Some relatives are also prone to infesting greenhouses. The ironic thing about the greenhouse infestations is that those species actually feed on algae in moist soil and not the plants, but they crap all over everything which makes the plants not look so good and they can emerge in large numbers, irritating patrons. The family feeds on a wide variety of things, and I'm not sure what this genus is particularly fond of, but some common sources of food are algae, decaying plant matter, various microorganisms like bacteria and yeast, and even carrion. Basically anything that's moist and near the edge of water, including saline, fresh, and brackish, but they love/need a humid environment for the maggots.
How did I find it? Well, I had some ideas where to start, both in terms of resources and types of flies to check out, and then I did some looking around. I'm a bit of a hobbyist entomologist and have ID'd for a number of other photos on the forum, so I keep my eyes open for these posts because it's easier to get through things if you know where to start like I do. Plus I'm curious. I also have a knack for knowing/seeing which anatomical features are critical for limiting down the choices.
I will admit though, I had to do a bit more looking around for this one than I have for others.

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

09/03/2009 11:53:26 PM · #21

We have the same ones, same red blood and no bites on us. Washington state here. Left the door open last weekend too long and as soon as we went in the house we seen them. I've killed 20-30 this week and there are always 2-3 flying around.

Note, I mastered a great way to kill them. When they are on something, sneak your hands up near them and clap above them. They fly right into your clap! I'm getting like 80% kill shots on the little buggers.

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

09/04/2009 12:43:50 AM · #22

Originally posted by LoudDog:

My technique is to wet a paper towel, then squeeze out most of the water and hold it in my palm so a little extra hangs past my fingers. Slap from behind and even as they leap forward, the paper towel whacks 'em. The water gives it the weight it needs. I have a similar percentage to yours, and I don't have to get as high (our ceilings are nearly 9 feet high, so it's hard to clap way up there).

Coming in from behind is definitely key.

I should note that I normally put insects outside. I don't like killing things, and now that I know they're basically harmless, I'm less inclined to go after them.

Frankly, if mosquitoes were silent and didn't make welts on me the size of quarters, and didn't carry disease, I wouldn't begrudge them a little blood. But since they make noise and do, I take pleasure in nailing them.

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

09/04/2009 02:00:00 AM · #23

OK, here's the dorsal view. I think you're very close,

spiritualspatula. But the markings on the back aren't quite the same, and there's definitely a yellowish tinge to the stripes on the back.

Note: in typical crazy mode, I had my tripod with my D200 and 180mm macro lens on my dining room table, pointed straight up. I had to get up on a stool and lean out over the table to aim and focus.

Message edited by author 2009-09-04 02:43:38.

09/04/2009 02:39:41 AM · #24

Originally posted by levyj413:

OK, here's the dorsal view. I think you'ee very close, spiritualspatula. But the markings on the back aren't quite the same, and there's definitely a yellowish tinge to the stripes on the back.

Note: in typical crazy mode, I had my tripod with my D200 and 180mm macro lens on my dining room table, pointed straight up. I had to get up on a stool and lean out over the table to aim and focus.

I agree. Mind if I forward the photos on somewhere else? I'd post them in a forum.