The Strange Fly
As I have mentioned before Hodmandod Senior is a lark (rather than an owl).
It is said that the early bird catches the worm. I have to report that this morning the early bird also caught the strange fly with the transparent abdomen. He thoughtfully took this picture of it for when the owls emerged from their slumber mid-morning.
It would be interesting to have a transparent abdomen. You could watch your food being slowly digested. The peristaltic movement would be as mesmerising as watching clothes tumble around in the washing machine (or is that just me?). People of all ages would go round baring their midriffs and the most affluent would show off their wealth by making sure they went out after lunch when their expensive food was still quite recognisable in their stomachs...
posted by Clare Dudman at 12:09 am
9 Comments:
So funny - the photo and the comments you made about it - don't the young have a penchant already for showing off their mid-riffs - maybe they would be a little envious of this fly!
BTW Congrats to your son on his graduation - I did leave a comment on your post about it - I'd missed it the other day ...
Hello, I saw your "London" post on bloglines but when I came to your blog it had gone.
Come and have lunch with me if you are hanging around in London. I work right near Kings Cross station. Before or after, you could go to the British Library a couple of doors down where they have a newspapers exhibition that looks quite fun.
If you are still coming and would like to meet, please contact me by email -- my work email is m DOT clarke AT nature DOT com.
Look forward to if if it sounds possible for you.
all best
Maxine.
Thank you, Maxine! I shall be in touch by email tomorrow.
And thank you Chief Biscuit. Your comment is there now I see. This keeps happening to me too I make a comment but they seem to disappear. Must be something I'm doing wrong, ah well.
I have spotted this phenomenon before, Maxine. It seems that Blogger can take a while - hours - to put up the post. I was able to access it with a page link
http://keeperofthesnails.blogspot.com/2006/07/loitering-in-london.html
on the Metaxucafe site.
Clare, the fly seems to be a good example of "adapt to environment" for survival in respect of camouflage. What better to use to merge in with your surroundings than a partly transparent body. These flies are getitng cute!
I think that you have Volucella Pellucens (or a close relative) there. Their larvae live as parasites on wasp larvae, after which they feed on dead wasps in the bottom of the nest. The adults hibernate in the ground and then pupate in spring. One of the Syrphidae (Hover-flies). I don't think it bites.
Jeremy: Thank you I am highly impressed. How did you know that? Are you a fly expert? I think you must be.
As for the fly itself - parasite and then scavenger - not the most attractive lifesyle, I think, but quite a handsome animal as flies go, i think.
I watched a house fly sucking up drops of milk off a dark wood table the other day while away on holiday. It was most impressive how much it could polish off. Seeing how empty this fly looks, I realise now where it was putting all the milk.
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