Skip to main content
Close

Long-legged Fly

Photo by LarryGraziano
Published on Project Noah
Zoom
NominateNominate for Wildlife Photograph of the Month
reportFlag Spotting

10.1985, -85.8256

Field Notes

Description:

This little guy is about 1/4 to 3/8" long.

Habitat:

Tropical dry forest in Nw Costa Rica one month into the rainy season. Found in my garden on Ixora

Notes:

Family - Diptera

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (9)

great details on such a tiny fly!
Beautiful shot..with clear picture..
That's a very interesting observation. We have long-legged flies here in Minnesota, but typically humidity here is quite low--we think humidity levels in the 60s are high, although they sometimes rise into the 70s, at least in recent years. Often the pre-flash makes these insects zoom off and I only get a great photo of an empty leaf....grin. Great observation; one that I'll have to file away for more thinking and to see if there is any difference in insect activity between high and low humidities here. Thanks for sharing that....
Thank you Gordon for your kind words and the link. I think you will find it interesting to know that there are few of these flies in the dry season...naturally. They are very jumpy at that time, difficult to shoot, and usually covered in dust. However, in the wet season, they are prolific and 'tame'. It could be the humidity which hovers around 90% or just the sheer numbers that causes them to be less concerned by movements around them.
It is indeed a very nice shot and a tough subject to photograph as they are fast and jumpy. You did well! This is one of the long-legged flies, but it is a big family. Here is some information: https://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg231.html. Again, nice job in getting such a nice photo.
Thank you so much Maria! Looks like my lense needs a little cleaning though!

Accelerate our Mission to Photograph 
Every Species in the World!

Image
Butterflies icon

Wildlife Community

Wildlife Community

Join a worldwide community passionate about wildlife and nature!

Join Project Noah

Nature School

Nature School

Transform your green space into a curiosity-creating nature classroom!

Visit Nature School

Wildlife Game

Wildlife Game

Defend wildlife throughout the jungle in thrilling nature game!

Play Baboon