In contrast to the beautiful dragonfly images I shared in my last post I have opted to share a selection of images that many of you will consider grotesque and by all means if that is how you feel about flies then perhaps you should look away now.
If you choose to stick with me then be prepared for a close look at three different species of flies that I spotted recently.
Flies are almost invariably seen as pests; that buzzing nuisance around the house or that irritating presence at a picnic, and given some of their habits they are understandably considered dirty and unwelcome. However, if we stop to think about "what is the point of flies?" it becomes clear that these grotesque, dirty creatures play a vital role in the functioning of our whole ecosystem.
They clean and recycle waste, breaking down organic matter and releasing nutrients back into the soil.
Flies are the second most important pollinators after bees. Without flies wildflowers and food crops would disappear. And a fascinating fact that I have found is that cacao trees are only pollinated by a specific group of midge flies so without flies there would be no chocolate, learning that I have become the biggest fan of flies!
Flies (and their larvae)are food food a huge variety of other insects, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish so again they play an important role in the food chain.
Finally flies also play a significant role in scientific and medical advancement because fruit flies share almost 75% of human disease causing genes so they are an essential part of genetic and cancer research.
None of the above will make a fly welcome at a picnic or make it any less annoying as it buzzes around the house on a summer day however hopefully we can all respect the role they play.
Now to the photos; these are three different species of fly they are not pretty by any stretch of the imagination but they are fascinating and a closer look reveals some interesting detail so be brave and scroll down, and leave a comment to let me know what you think...
Tachinid fera
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