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Fly style Face off - Ochthera mantis
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
I found a huge congregation of these Ochthera mantis near a swamp on a recent trek.
Very alert to movement, they would take off like a cloud of smoke on the slightest disturbance.
It was a challenge to approach them and shoot... I finally managed to get 2 or 3 such pictures....
Size: 0.3 to 0.5mm approx
Adult Ochthera mantis are predaceous and have been noted to probe sand with their proboscis and when they detect prey such as Chirnonomid larvae, they are excavated using the fore tibial spines and held between the tibia and femora as the prey is consumed.
The adults feed on midges and mosquitoes.
The larvae are predaceous on midge larvae. :-)
Scientific classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Ephydridae
Genus: Ochthera |
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Spectacular photograph! Very nice to see these flies in such close-up. regards Yiannis
Well friend Vipin, this may not be the sharpest image around but that scene is incredible in its simplicity indeed! Bravo!
Regards,
George Veltchev
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