Fly Abomination? Animated Gif

l2oBiNl2oBiN Registered Users Posts: 180 Major grins
edited January 11, 2009 in Holy Macro
Could someone explain what the hell is this fly doing? It looks like its turning its insides out!
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Comments

  • Lord VetinariLord Vetinari Registered Users Posts: 15,901 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2009
    l2oBiN wrote:
    Could someone explain what the hell is this fly doing? It looks like its turning its insides out!
    Bit small to see but would guess it's cleaning it's ovipositor.

    Brian V.
    Brian V.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/
    http://www.lordv.smugmug.com/
  • l2oBiNl2oBiN Registered Users Posts: 180 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2009
    Lord Vetinari wrote:
    Bit small to see but would guess it's cleaning it's ovipositor.

    Brian V.

    I tried capturing a series for focus stack and then I noticed what was happening. Can its ovipositor really come out that far? It looked like a maggot, quite large compared to the fly itself!
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  • Lord VetinariLord Vetinari Registered Users Posts: 15,901 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2009
    l2oBiN wrote:
    I tried capturing a series for focus stack and then I noticed what was happening. Can its ovipositor really come out that far? It looked like a maggot, quite large compared to the fly itself!
    Not sure but was suprised to learn recently that some flies do lay live larvae rather than eggs.
    Brian V.
    Brian V.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/
    http://www.lordv.smugmug.com/
  • l2oBiNl2oBiN Registered Users Posts: 180 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2009
    Lord Vetinari wrote:
    Not sure but was suprised to learn recently that some flies do lay live larvae rather than eggs.
    Brian V.

    Interesting...
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  • l2oBiNl2oBiN Registered Users Posts: 180 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2009
    Blown up update #1
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  • l2oBiNl2oBiN Registered Users Posts: 180 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2009
    Blown up update #2
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  • Lord VetinariLord Vetinari Registered Users Posts: 15,901 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2009
    Reply from diptera.info.

    This is larvivipary - Ozzie style.
    Normally when a fly retains her eggs and gives "birth" to live maggots, they are first or at most second instar. In this case it looks like the maggot has been growing for some time. (A great advantageous in a country where carrion can dry up quickly.) This is carried to extremes in families like Hippoboscidae and Glossiniidae where adult flies produce fully fed maggots that immediately pupariate, but it's interesting to see it "evolving" here. In not sure what the species is - don't know the Australian greenbottles very well. "

    Brian V.
    Brian V.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/
    http://www.lordv.smugmug.com/
  • l2oBiNl2oBiN Registered Users Posts: 180 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2009
    Lord Vetinari wrote:
    Reply from diptera.info.

    This is larvivipary - Ozzie style.
    Normally when a fly retains her eggs and gives "birth" to live maggots, they are first or at most second instar. In this case it looks like the maggot has been growing for some time. (A great advantageous in a country where carrion can dry up quickly.) This is carried to extremes in families like Hippoboscidae and Glossiniidae where adult flies produce fully fed maggots that immediately pupariate, but it's interesting to see it "evolving" here. In not sure what the species is - don't know the Australian greenbottles very well.<!--sub_forum_post_message--> "

    Brian V.

    Thnx Brian!
    Wow, that is cool, so it was a maggot! It was huge. How the hell does a maggot that size fit inside the abdomen?
    Flickr
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