Time to continue with more flies! This guy is from genus Cerdistus, part of a group of successful aerial predators known as robber flies. Harmless to humans, they catch other insects on the wing.
If you're interested in how I can tell it's a guy and not a gal, here's a gal! At the tip of the abdomen, males have grasping appendages and females have poking ones: it's an ovipositor for laying eggs, not a stinger.
Long-legged flies (Sciapodinae)! These metallic green and copper flies are a common sight in Meanjin/Brisbane, and despite their diminutive size of a few millimetres, they're actually predators of other insects!
Flies on daisies. As much as I complain about hot weather, how I've missed the bright, sunny days when I can take a 15 minute break, walk out my door, and get pictures of flies on daisies. Underappreciated pollinators on underappreciated plants. I love them so much.
My last entry for this #invertefest is this #fly that Inaturalist’s system thinks might be genus #Leia but I have had no IDs on. The coloration is similar to that of a lovebug (Plecia nearctica) but it is nearly twice the length.
The bluest known bioluminescense of any insect is produced by larvae of a predatory keroplatid gnat, Orfelia fultoni, which lure flying insects to a sticky silk trap. Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA.
Mammals: 6400 species
Fish: 34000 species
Insects: 5000000+ species
The sheer scale of insect diversity is such that you’ll never run out of marvels and delightful oddities, even if you see 100 new ones per day for the rest of your life.