striped deer fly (Chrysops vittatus) female at Chipera Prairie IA 854A1350
If you've never had the pleasure of meeting a deer fly before, just visit Iowa in the summer sometime. This female will lay her eggs on vegetation hanging over water or wet soil. Upon hatching, the larvae eat organic matter in the mud, including tiny critters there. They stay buried in the mud all winter and pupate there the following spring before adult deer flies emerge. Females need a blood meal for egg development and often try to get it from us or another unlucky animal. Males are harmless and drink flower nectar.
striped deer fly (Chrysops vittatus) female at Chipera Prairie IA 854A1350
If you've never had the pleasure of meeting a deer fly before, just visit Iowa in the summer sometime. This female will lay her eggs on vegetation hanging over water or wet soil. Upon hatching, the larvae eat organic matter in the mud, including tiny critters there. They stay buried in the mud all winter and pupate there the following spring before adult deer flies emerge. Females need a blood meal for egg development and often try to get it from us or another unlucky animal. Males are harmless and drink flower nectar.