Insects by Picture
Flies by Picture
Diptera Taxonomy
Delphinia picta - BugGuide
Delphinia picta - University of Florida
A picture-winged fly landed on my hand while I was in the back yard on May 5, 2017 and moved around for a while before it flew away.
 |
| Click the photo to see it bigger! |
Picture-winged flies have an average wing length of 6 mm and an average body length of 7mm excluding the ovipositor. They have unusual mouth parts that I have not figured out yet!
Delphinia picta larvae are saprophagic; they only feed on rotting or heavily decayed vegetation. Adults can found from May until late summer. They mate within about two days after they finish pupating, and females are ready to lay eggs in three to seven days. They can lay over 400 to 500 eggs in decaying vegetation. Eggs hatch in four to seven days, and larvae take from 20 to 31 days to develop and enter pupation, from which adults emerge 12 to 15 days later. Many larvae of the second and subsequent generations entered diapause and overwinter before they pupate.
Adults reared from puparia usually lived less than 40 days in the laboratory. Males generally died first. Mating occurred repeatedly during the life of the female, with each mating lasting approximately an hour.
