Showing posts with label Phantom crane fly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phantom crane fly. Show all posts

Monday, May 30, 2011

It's a buggy world out there


Continuing with the insect theme, after 'shooting' the damselfly (see next), I happened to see one of the black & white insects floating through the air that I have recently been seeing, and took a stab at trying to get a shot of it. I have seen them in recent years, but hadn't identified them. Doing a bit of research, I discovered they are Phantom Crane Flies, commonly found around marshy areas. They have six legs, and two wings which aren't evident in this shot. They seem to drift in the breeze, and are certainly an unusual insect. The 'phantom' name comes from the fact that when they are appear against a dark background, all that shows are disconnected white patches.