Flies, Frogs, and Flowers

.

A collection of "F's" for your enjoyment.
Click on the photographs for details.

Fruit Fly (Delphina picta)
Picture-winged Fly

Closely resembles the Picture-winged Fly (Tritoxa sp.) posted by Marvin(click here) a while back.
The Delphina is recognized by the 2 white triangles on the leading edge of the mostly black wing as opposed to the white stripes for Tritoxa.

These is a great group of flies - the Fruit Fly family (Tephritidae)

.........................................

Tachnid Fly
Trichopoda sp.

The larvae of the Tachnid are parasitic on other insects and caterpillars.

.........................................

Mallophora sp. (probably orcina)
Robber fly (Southern Bee Killer)

This robber fly feeds almost exclusively on bees and wasps.

..........................................

Frog
Come on in, the slime is fine.
Free beauty treatment mud pack.

.............................................

Flowers make a fine "F"

Partridge Pea ( Cassia fasciculata)
Notice the very cool stigma

This is an interesting 5 petal flower. The upper 3 petals are red-spotted at the base. the lower 2 petals are cupped. The flowers are borne on a short cluster, but only one opens at the time. Notice yesterday's flower above is closed. The leaves are divided into 8-15 opposite pair leaflets. The foliage is partially sensitive and partially closes when stroked.

Notice the small orange gland at the base of the leaf. This produces nectar which the ants use as a food source. Notice the small ant on the way up to collect dinner (or a snack).

..............................................


Fireweed
Near the Arctic circle


..............................................


Foxglove
Photographed on the side of a cliff,
overlooking the Pacific Ocean

..............................................


Click on the photographs for details.

I hope you enjoyed the "F" post today.
Leave a comment.
Vote for your favorite so that we will know what you like to see.

Troy and Martha

ABC Wednesday Round 3 is here.
.

Peacock Fly

.

I assume this is one of the large Fruit flies (maybe Tephritidae ?).
The Tephritidae are also known as Peacock Flies due to the wing pattern.
I haven't had any luck in my field guides, so I need a little help with the identification.

Update: May be Ulidiidae or a 'picture-winged fly'.
Update to the Update: Probably Rivellia - a Signal Fly

. Class Insecta (Insects)

. Order Diptera (Flies)

. No Taxon (Acalyptratae)

. Superfamily Tephritoidea

. Family Platystomatidae (Signal Flies)

. Genus Rivellia

Probably Rivellia

It was maybe 1/4" inch in length.
Some of these are known as Peacock or even Picture-winged flies due to the wing pattern.

I wish I had paid more attention to the size.
(Note to self: Buy a small digital Pocket Recorder.)

It was photographed at the Ft. Worth Nature Refuge, Ft. Worth, Tarrant County, Texas, USA.
I just posted it on Bug Guide here. For comments on ID, go to the link.


Troy