#365Insects 35: #Rhamphomyia longicauda Loew, 1861
When it comes to finding love, dance flies like this female cheat to win. While the males are off capturing a romantic dinner (a small insect they use as a nuptial gift), females will swarm together, and each one will hold their feathery legs alongside their abdomen, which is also fuzzy and can be greatly inflated out to the sides, making them look like they’re full of eggs. When males come back with dinner, they seek out the most fecund-looking females, give them their dinner, and get to getting busy, while the female enjoys her free dinner then goes along her way after the romantic evening with none of the baggage. (at University of Guelph)
