Ruthless insect destroyer - poisonous fly ktyr

The fly is one of the most annoying insects that attacks a person’s home in the warm season. There are more than seven tens of thousands of different species of flies, among which there are both harmless and biting creatures. There are also those that carry infections. Dung flies are quite sticky, the most common being house flies. A fly-larva can adapt to a living organism and lay its parasitic eggs there, as a result of which the larvae begin to develop directly in the stomach and intestines, subsequently gnawing passages into other organs. The largest fly is also amazing in its own way. The most interesting and largest specimens will be discussed in this article.

Fourth place - giant weta

Giant weta
The giant weta is a wingless insect with a thick, brown body. It has large modified mandibles - horns, with the help of which they organize “battles” - butting. The length of the insects is up to 9 cm, weight - 50-75 g. The weta lives in the Te Hauturu-o-Toi Nature Reserve in New Zealand in dense forests. To get here you need a special permit. There are no small mammals on the island, so the weta takes their place. Insects can neither jump nor fly. They feed on fruits, leaves, flowers.

The weta protects itself from its opponents with spikes. When a threat approaches, the giant throws away its hind legs, studded with sharp spines. If the defense does not work, the individual pretends to be dead, falling on its back.

Fly larvae

But people sometimes don’t even remember about the most terrible insect, which is a genus of flies, and maybe they don’t even know at all. Someone heard it, but did not attach any importance to it, although this should not be forgotten, even in the most secluded corner of the earth. After all, this terrible insect called a fly, the product of evil itself, is a real killer and cannibal. A terrible death awaits anyone who ever falls into the clutches of this insidious creature.

BotFly translates as Fly Larva, although it belongs to the same Gadfly family, but is divided into many varieties. Some insects adapt to animals, where they begin their deadly reproduction.

For example, Horse Stomach Bot Fly, a horse-eating fly, lays its parasitic eggs in pastures where herds of horses graze.

Bays and blacks swallow these eggs along with food, thereby becoming a living incubator for these creatures. Having penetrated the animal, the larvae begin to build nests right in the stomach and intestines of the poor horse, they feed intensively and grow, making and gnawing passages into other organs. Unhappy animals usually get sick and die. When the time comes for a fat and well-fed larva to become a fly, they crawl out and give birth to monsters.

Coprophagous

Among others, obligate flies include some species of the family of true flies that live in pastures. These insects contribute to the breakdown of excrement in nature and are difficult to classify as pests or dangerous flies. But sometimes they fly into houses, carrying worm eggs. In addition, these types of flies often settle in premises where animals are kept.

Housefly

Facultative flies are much more dangerous, since adult flies feed on excrement, but also willingly eat human food. Often these species fly in to eat directly from a dung heap. The food of the larvae is excrement.

Appearance of a housefly

In the photo of a housefly, with macro magnification, you can clearly see all the details of the coloring. But when viewed with the naked eye, the fly looks gray.

This is a small insect with an average length of 7 mm. The color of house flies is gray with four longitudinal black stripes on the chest. The belly is yellowish on the underside. The eyes are large and dark red. The eye structure is faceted. The male differs from the female in the distance between the eyes: in females, the length of the organ of vision is equal to the distance between them; in the male, the eyes are spaced 2/3 of the way.

Nutrition

A housefly is an insect that is not capable of biting through human skin, although the female needs protein food to reproduce. This type of fly feeds only on liquid food. When finding solid pieces of organic matter, the housefly dissolves them in saliva before consuming them.

In this way she can “bite” a person. Trying to dissolve the skin with saliva, the fly causes sharp pain. An acid burn would cause similar sensations in us. But such a “bite” leaves no traces on the body.

Gauromydas heros

The largest fly in the world, Gauromydas heros, from the family Mydidae, is an inhabitant of the forests of South America. It is a very large insect, the body length of which reaches 6 cm. This creature also has the largest wingspan (up to 10-12 cm). The main body color is black (a photo of a large fly can be seen below).

The largest fly in the world Gauromydas heros

The biology of this large insect has not yet been fully studied, since adults are quite rare. It is known that only males feed on nectar; females stock up on nutrients while in the larval stage. The larvae of the largest member of the fly family live in the burrows of Atta Fabricius ants and pupate in the soil.

Interesting!

When meeting a person, a large black fly can leave a mark on the body in the form of a large bruise. It has not yet been established how dangerous this “giant” is.

Why are flies dangerous to humans?

These insects are carriers of diseases such as diphtheria, typhoid fever, cholera, tuberculosis, anthrax, polio, and diphtheria.

Among the types of pest flies, the most famous is the Hessian fly. Outwardly, it looks like a mosquito, which is why one of its names is bread mosquito. Its larvae are capable of completely destroying grain crops; they especially love rye and wheat. Bread gnat attacks have previously led to famine in entire countries.

This pest competes with the cabbage fly, an incredibly voracious species. The larvae of this insect completely eat up cruciferous plants.

One of the most interesting types of predatory flies is the pushers. The rules of their mating games are surprising: the flies dance in the air for some time. Representatives of the stronger sex fly up to the females one by one with a present - a neatly packaged fly. If the lady doesn’t like the gift, the unlucky boyfriend can easily have his head bitten off. Everything is like people...

Pusher catches prey in flight, skewers it on spikes located on the front legs and sucks out the entrails. Their larvae are also predators.

The famous tsetse fly is deservedly considered the most famous insect in Africa. Interestingly, these “celebrities” are not toxic, but this does not make it any easier for the victims. The fly feeds on the blood of animals and carries a very dangerous sleeping sickness.

Since the insect moves quietly, the bite is noticed too late. After it, a red tumor remains, after about a few weeks the victim begins to experience headaches and muscle pain, the lymph nodes swell, the body temperature rises noticeably, and convulsions begin. A person can remain in such a painful state for several years. Sleeping sickness is difficult to treat, especially at the level of medicine common in most African countries.

Back in the century before last, the continent was engulfed by real epidemics, but now about 10 thousand cases of sleeping sickness are recorded every year. Most cases traditionally occur in the Congo due to the climate.

Animals also suffer from tsetse flies. Interestingly, these insects only disdain zebras. Tsetse flies do not bite zebras because of their unusual coloration; they do not consider minke whales to be living creatures.

Tsetse is not a species, but a whole genus of flies, including several species. This complicates the already difficult task of reducing their numbers. However, the problem has moved forward: in Ethiopia they decided to put out the fire with counter fire. Scientists raise male tsetse, sterilize them and release them. Since females mate only once in their lives and do not allow males to approach them again, they remain infertile.

Let's return from Africa to our region. The largest flies in the temperate climate zone are popularly called horse flies. Usually they are content with plant sap; only females feed on blood before laying eggs. During feeding, the female horsefly completely devotes herself to the process, without being distracted by what is happening around her, hence the name.

Nutritional value of maggot Black soldier fly

Experts classify the larvae of this species as low-calorie, high-protein dietary food. They are considered more valuable than zofobas and mealworms, and in addition, they contain a high calcium content, which is important for growing and young animals and birds. The ratio of calcium and phosphorus is also optimal.

Protein per 100 g of fresh weight – up to 26 g

The energy value per 100 grams of fresh mass is 186 Kcal.

A valuable quality of Black soldier fly maggots is also their amino acid profile: increased content of linolenic acid (one of the forms of omega-3 fatty acid), the essential protein methionine (animals and birds do not synthesize this amino acid, but receive it only with food). Arginine and lysine are also present in increased content.

Live maggot Black soldier fly is the best food in terms of content and ratio of lipid-protein mass, and is allowed in feeding young and weakened animals, during gestation and feeding of offspring, and recovery from illnesses.

Since the maggots of this type of fly contain the pigment melanin, it is very valuable for ornamental birds and fish - their color is more saturated.

Man-eating fly tactics

All these maggot flies are very adaptable, hardy and adapt to any conditions. They are very difficult to kill and can travel and carry their eggs long distances. They can be found in America, Canada, Australia, Europe and Russia. The whole danger of these “man-eaters” lies in the fact that the creatures are very cunning and resourceful, and have developed their own strategy of planting eggs on humans.

The tactic is this: the man-eating fly spreads and places its eggs on other individuals of the insect world, which in turn come into direct contact with people. These are gadflies and horseflies, mosquitoes and gnats, and even ordinary flies, as well as all other blood-sucking and human-eating ghouls. Upon contact, the eggs remain planted on the skin of people and after thermal interaction with the body, unnoticed by the person himself, a larva hatches, which in turn also imperceptibly penetrates inside. That's it, the job is done and the long and deadly process of eating living flesh begins. It will no longer be possible to stop them, and that part of your body where the voracious larva has penetrated, be it the brain or heart, liver or lungs, no doubt, will be eaten.

Interesting fact: Adult gadflies do not feed. They live off the nutrients accumulated in the larval phase, so their life is short. The lifespan of adult gadflies, according to various sources, ranges from 3 to 20 days.

Don't forget about this and be careful if you don't want to die a terrible and painful death.

Gadflies

Horseflies are often confused with gadflies due to the similarity in size. But the difference between them is very big. In terms of harm, gadflies are more dangerous than horse flies. Botflies are also large flies. Their size ranges from 9 to 25 mm. Some of these flies mimic bumblebees.

Gadfly

An adult gadfly does not drink blood and does not feed at all. It is not the fly itself that is dangerous, but its larvae, which parasitize the body of mammals.

Gadflies are widespread throughout Russia. They attack livestock, causing serious damage to livestock production. Parasitic larvae, gnawing passages in soft tissues, bother animals. As a result, livestock reduces weight gain and milk yield.

Gastric gadfly larvae are analogues of worms. The only difference between them is that the larvae come out to pupate, while the worms continue to live in the intestines.

Important!

Sheep and horse gadflies can kill animals by “suffocating” them with larvae accumulated in the nasal cavity. These two species are the most dangerous, as they can attack humans. Flies squirt eggs into people's eyes and noses. The larva emerges from the egg very quickly and penetrates the eyeball or nasal cavity. They can only be removed from there surgically.

The head of gadflies is flattened and wide. Most species do not have stubble on their eyes. Males have larger eyes and set them closer than females. The oral apparatus is either completely absent or greatly reduced.

Gadflies, compared to horseflies, are fluffy, large flies. The chest of gadflies is covered with stubble. Depending on the type, the bristles can be:

• short;
• long;
• standing;
• adjacent.

The thick, short legs are also covered with dense hairs. The wings are transparent. The abdomen can be conical or spherical.

A fly savoring a man

Another such variety of this flesh eater is Sheep Nose Bot Fly, a fly that eats sheep, penetrates the body of peaceful sheep and begins its rapid and dangerous reproduction. The principle of feeding is similar to the previous one and absolutely the entire animal world falls under it. These parasites develop and destroy all organs that they come across during feeding.

But the greatest horror is represented by larva man Bot Fly - a maggot fly that devours a person. This individual relishes only human meat, flesh and brains and does not recognize any other delicacies. Naturally, a person who becomes a victim of this creature dies in terrible agony and torment, unless, of course, this attack is discovered in his body in time, which is very unlikely. Although in our time of ultra-modern medical devices this has become possible, and Homo Sapiens has the opportunity to get rid of a fly prematurely without leading to a fatal outcome, it is still unknown how the affected organs will turn out for the rescued owner.

Ilnitsa-beeweed (tenacious Ilnitsa)

This type of fly belongs to the hoverfly family. In appearance they are similar to an ordinary bee. The average length is 1.5 cm. The abdomen is dark brown in color, covered with plumage of small hairs; on the side there are large red spots with a yellowish tint. In the middle part of the fly's face there is a wide, well-developed shiny black stripe. On the eyes there are two vertical stripes with thick hair. The hind limbs in the lower leg area are also covered with hairs. The insect's thighs are almost black.

The larva of the bee moth is dark with a gray tint. The body of the larvae has a cylindrical shape and reaches a length of 10–20 mm. The larva breathes using a special breathing tube, which can stretch up to 100 mm in length. This organ is very important for her, since she lives in conditions of fetid liquids, garbage pits and pond sewage, and can only breathe clean air.

This insect is active from July to October. Illices feed on the nectar of various flowering plants.

Beeworm larvae can be the source of a dangerous intestinal disease found in some European countries, Africa, Australia, Chile, Argentina, India, Iran and Brazil.

The disease occurs as a result of fly eggs entering the human intestines along with food. There the larva hatches and begins to develop, causing enteritis.

Room

The fly belonging to this species practically no longer lives in the wild. Therefore, she is the most annoying and impudent guest in our homes in the summer-autumn period. At this time, our life is complicated by the constant struggle with these small, but very fast and resourceful insects.

House flies are most active during the daytime. The homeland of this insect is the steppe of Central Asia. But at the moment, its distribution is observed everywhere near human homes - both in rural areas and in cities.

A fly of this species is not a biting or blood-sucking insect, but nevertheless it causes significant harm to humans. Its limbs have tentacles on which various harmful bacteria and dirt accumulate, leading to infectious diseases.

The housefly's body is gray with brown tints. It consists of the abdomen, head and chest. The chest is connected to wings and three pairs of legs. On the head there are very large eyes, occupying almost the entire head, an oral cavity and short antennae. The upper part of the breast has four dark stripes, the belly has black spots in the form of quadrangles. The lower half of the head is yellow. The total body length of the fly usually does not exceed 8 mm. Males by size

There are fewer females.

The female has a wider frontal part of the head, and the distance between the eyes is greater than that of the male. The flight of a fly is carried out only with the help of two front membranous transparent wings, and the hind wings (haleteres) are necessary only to maintain balance.

In appearance, many types of flies are similar to the house fly, but its distinctive feature is the vein that forms a break in front of the edge of the wing. The limbs of the housefly are thin and long with suction cups for convenient movement on various surfaces. These suction cups allow her to move freely even on a vertical glass plane and on the ceiling. The fly's flight speed is very high, and it can last for several hours.

Nutrition

Despite the small antennae, the housefly has a keen sense of smell. She can smell the smell of food over long distances.

The fly feeds on everything that people eat, but prefers liquid food.

Its mouthparts are not capable of biting - they only have a licking-sucking function. To do this, the fly has a flexible proboscis on its head, with which it not only sucks liquid food, but also absorbs solid foods. The fact is that the fly secretes saliva, which dissolves solids.

Reproduction and development

The housefly's favorite place to lay eggs is in rotting, moist environments such as manure and various sewage. Having chosen a suitable place, the female lays from 70 to 120 white eggs, the length of which is about 1.2 mm. The transition stage from egg to larva, depending on environmental conditions, lasts for 8–50 hours. The larva is an elongated white body without limbs, similar to a small worm 10–13 mm long, with a pointed head. It continues to live in the feces of various farm animals (horses, chickens, cows).

After the larva has 3 molts, after 3–25 days, its shell hardens and separates from the body. Thus, it becomes a pupa and after 3 days turns into a young fly, which can produce offspring within 36 hours. The average lifespan of a house fly is 0.5–1 month, but sometimes, under particularly favorable conditions, it can live up to two months. A female can lay eggs up to 15 times throughout her life. Depending on the air temperature and other climatic factors, the total number of offspring ranges from 600 to 9,000 eggs. The breeding season of the housefly lasts from mid-April to the second half of September.

Ktyr

Ktyr fly
A representative of this species can be found everywhere, with the exception of Antarctica. The fly is a predator-exterminator of various insects (flies, beetles, wasps, butterflies, grasshoppers, beetles), which sometimes provides a great service to humans.

It is distinguished by its large size (5-8 cm), strong body, strong limbs with spines, and a rigid proboscis. A characteristic feature of the structure of the imago is a large mesothorax and an elongated abdomen. The predator is black in color; sometimes there are species with brown, reddish or red sclerites. The entire body of the individual is covered with gray pollen; there are also specimens with a pattern of light stripes or spots. On the large head there are a compound eye, three simple ocelli and short antennae.

Bee

Insects similar to wasps are bees. They are extremely often confused with each other. A bee and a wasp have some similarities in their lifestyle, they even sting just as painfully. The bee has a round shape, the head and chest are gray-black with thick, long yellow hairs. Massive paws, long whiskers are clearly visible. A striking distinctive feature is the absence of a “wasp waist” - a thin bridge between the chest and abdomen. The color is yellow-black, but the stripes are narrower and covered with yellow hairs.

Bees feed exclusively on nectar and form honeycombs from wax, which they produce themselves. Thanks to their ability to reproduce honey, they have long been domesticated and live in beehives. They are periodically attacked by the wasp family. This fact refutes the statement that wasps do not attack their own kind. The similarity in color must be explained by something else

Classification of flies

They still cannot systematize flies, proposing various ways to divide these insects into orders, genera, families, etc. But the ordinary inhabitant of the planet is of little interest in such methods of classification as the shape of the seam along which the pupa bursts, or the length of the whiskers of a fly. But the food habits of flies worry everyone, since the comfort of human existence depends on it. And the division of dipterans according to nutritional factor is quite clear and does not cause confusion.

According to the nature of feeding of adult flies, there are:

• nectarivores;
• aphagi;
• hematophagous;
• coprophages;
• necrophages;
• polyphages.

The second part of these words comes from the Greek phagos - “devouring” and indicates the type of food that each of the groups eats.

The food of nectarophages is the nectar of flowers, aphages do not eat at all as adults, hematophages drink blood, coprophages eat excrement, necrophages eat dead flesh, and polyphages have a very extensive food base. A striking example of a polyphage is the housefly.

Lifestyle

The biology of Gauromydas heros is currently very poorly studied, since adults (adult individuals) are very rare. Males of this species are known to feed on flower nectar, while females do not feed at all. Gauromydas heros larvae are predators. They live in the home of ants of the genus Atta, hunting insects that eat ant meal. In this case, immature insects act as food.

As females lay eggs in anthills, males circle these earthen structures, controlling the territory and ensuring many matings.

the world's largest fly.

the most dangerous fly in the world.

The largest insect in the world

Goliath beetle

The Goliath beetle is the heaviest beetle on the planet. The length of this winged bird is up to 12 cm (females are up to 8 cm), and its weight is almost 50 g. The coloring is variable: it depends on the area and climate and humidity. It is often black with a white pattern on the wings. The darker color is characteristic of representatives of Central Africa, and the light color is characteristic of Southern and Western Africa. The dark areas are velvety to the touch. Basically, beetles are diurnal, fly actively, but land extremely rarely.

Giants feed on overripe fruits, and the larvae feed on rotten leaves and humus. Goliaths are characterized by cannibalism - adult beetles eat young ones.

The species has an interesting mating game: after it, the female buries herself in a cradle and lays eggs. There pupation of individuals occurs. By the end of development, their weight reaches 110 g and length – 15 cm.

Creepy? There is no need to be afraid. The size of an insect does not always indicate danger. There are many giants that are quite harmless to humans: the giant camel spider, the stick insect, the peacock eye, the tarantula, the giant weta. Among small insects there are many more dangerous pests. For example, in America, more than 30 people die each year from fire ant bites. Pests start fires by getting into air conditioners, traffic lights, and office equipment, thereby causing a short circuit.

Habitat

Unlike the house fly, Gauromydas heros is extremely rare. This is a heat-loving insect. Its habitat is South America, namely:

• Brazil;
• Paraguay;
• Colombia;
• Bolivia.

The insect does not adapt to harsh climatic zones, so they quickly die.

The fighter fly is still little studied, despite the fact that it was first discovered in 1833. The description was carried out by the German entomologist Maximilian Perti, who traveled to Brazil and Colombia. The South American fly was originally called Mydas heros Perty. Only in 1989 it received the name Gauromydas heros.

Necrophages

Necrophagous flies

Fly species names can often be misleading. Such a species as the “dust fly” does not exist in nature. This name most often hides lucilia, which belongs to the group of necrophages. In the garbage dumps themselves, you can find any synanthropic species, including fruit flies. The group of necrophagous flies of the most famous flies includes:

• Lucilia (green);
• gray meat;
• blue meat

They all feed on animal carcasses, but also include food scraps, plant juices and excrement in their diet.

Lucilia

A very common and well-known emerald green fly, capable of laying eggs on meat left unattended for a couple of minutes.

They often lay eggs in open wounds, where larvae begin to develop by eating rotting flesh. The main habitat of these dipterans near human habitation is slaughterhouses. But larvae can also develop in animal excrement. It takes 1-2 days for the larvae to develop from the egg.

Blue meat

Medium sized insect. Distributed across all continents. Like the green one, it prefers slaughterhouses and decaying meat.

Gray meat

One of the most dangerous carrion flies. Outwardly, it is similar to an ordinary indoor one, but larger and with clearly visible bright red eyes on its head. The species is viviparous. The female only needs to touch the meat with her belly to lay the larva. When emerging, the larva immediately begins to bite into the meat. The location of the larvae's penetration can be determined by the appearance of liquid from decomposing meat.

Fighting an annoying pest

If one or two flies fly into the house, there is no need to think about it for long: you can simply swat the bug as quickly as possible or drive it out. It’s another matter when you need to breed a large number of individuals. First, it’s worth figuring out where exactly they come from: there’s probably a place at home that’s ideal for the pest to breed.

It can be:

• ventilation holes;
• damp, dark areas under the kitchen or bathroom;
• leftover food on forgotten cabinet shelves;
• cracks under baseboards;
• holes leading into the attic or basement.

The darkest, least visited, damp places with food residues are simply a paradise for insects to breed. It is there that they can settle tightly, breeding more and more new generations of flying pests. Such places must be thoroughly treated with insecticidal preparations and cleaned. All cracks should be sealed, and it is better to supplement the ventilation grilles with fine mesh.

There are many ways to deal with annoying flies

It is important not only to destroy the pest, but also to eliminate all possible places where it can lay its larvae over and over again.

As for the fight against adult individuals, there are a huge number of products on the modern market that will help get rid of them.

The most common device is adhesive tape: it is safe for humans and is hung near the ceiling.

The only, and quite significant for many, disadvantage is the unesthetic appearance. A ribbon hanging like a garland, hung with the corpses of insects, is unlikely to please a clean housewife.

The most popular way to combat parasites is sticky tape.

In addition to this method of fighting flies, there are many others, for example:

• suspensions for spraying;
• aerosols;
• fumigators;
• traps.

All of them have both pros and cons, the main one being the content of hazardous chemicals.

Not every apartment owner wants to spray their home with chemicals, especially if there are small children or pets. Therefore, there are also a large number of folk remedies to combat annoying bugs.

Record breaking insects

The fighter fly is the undisputed record holder among dipterans, but it is found only in South America. On the Eurasian continent, and particularly in Russia, there are other large flies:

• horse bloodsucker;
• ktyr;
• gadfly;
• bullfly.

Important: unlike the fighter fly, representatives found in Russia pose a danger to humans and animals

Horse bloodsucker

The insect is also known as Hippobosca equina. An adult reaches 12 mm (most often 8.5 mm). The body is flattened, like all bloodsuckers. The color of the insect is brown with pale yellow spots on the back and abdomen. The wings are small but strong. On the head are dark brown compound eyes and powerful jaws comparable to small knives.

The adult sheds its wings after attacking an animal or person. A pest bite causes:

• skin irritation;
• pain;
• discomfort.

Important: the fly attacks only during the mating season, the rest of the time it feeds on nectar or pollen

Ktyr

There are about 7,000 species in nature. An adult grows up to 50 mm. At the same time, some tropical species reached 80 mm. The insect's body is elongated. The color of the pest ranges from bright yellow to dark brown. Moreover, all species have characteristic stripes on the abdomen. The head has large compound eyes and a proboscis.

The giant fly lives on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. The insect feeds:

• bugs;
• grasshoppers;
• wasps;
• butterflies;
• other flies.

Important: the ktyr’s saliva contains a potent poison that allows it to break down the insides of the victim.

Gadfly

There are 176 species of gadflies on earth. All of them have a massive body up to 30 mm long. Color depends on the species. There may be dense hairs on the body. On the head there are huge eyes consisting of 2500 facets. The wings have a characteristic pattern.

The adult lays eggs through a bite. The carriers are domestic and wild animals, as well as humans. The larvae live under the skin of the victim. It comes out only at the moment of pupation.

Important: a pest bite leads to serious consequences

Bullfly

An adult reaches 25 mm. The body of the insect is round and compacted. The back of the pest is dark gray. The abdomen is yellow with black stripes. There are large compound eyes on the head. In males they close. The wings located on the back are strong and have a characteristic pattern.

Females feed on blood:

• cattle;
• horses;
• large animals.

The food of males is nectar.

Great gray horsefly Tabanus autumnalis Linnaeus

Great gray horsefly Tabanus autumnalis Linnaeus
A large, well-recognized fly, whose body length reaches 16-23 mm. Quite often, such horseflies are mistaken for gadflies, although the latter are representatives of the superfamily Oestroidea. The insect has a dark gray color, a black abdomen with a clearly recognizable pattern.

Females suck the blood of mammals and are capable of attacking humans. Before landing on their prey, they circle over it for a long time. Males of the large fly lead a vegetarian lifestyle, feeding exclusively on flower nectar. The insect is a carrier of very dangerous infections, such as anthrax.

You can meet such a fly in Europe, North Africa, Western Siberia, Asia, the Caucasus and Kazakhstan.

Pusher flies

Pusher flies are small predatory insects that are found in almost all parts of the planet. These flies received this name because of their bizarre behavior. Before mating, during courtship, male tuskers gather in flocks and begin to perform peculiar dances

In this interesting way they attract the attention of females. In countries with particularly warm climates, such performances can be observed throughout the summer.

In addition to the pleasant spectacle of dancing, males gain favor with females by bringing gifts. Usually these are dead small flies of other species, which the female eats after mating. But quite often male pushers turn out to be very greedy gentlemen. In the most unceremonious way, they take their gifts from the female in order to use them to attract another female for mating.

The body of the pusher fly is gray-brown in color and up to 15 mm long. The belly has 5–7 ring-shaped divisions. When at rest, the wings fit tightly to the back. The head is small and round with a long proboscis hanging down. The eyes of males are usually as close to each other as possible. In the oral apparatus of the fly there are lower and upper jaws in the form of four bristles. Insect larvae live in the ground.