Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to re: Flying insects…..

Humbug!
Hank — (archived)

I've seen one of these guys, although to me it seemed smaller--bigger than a BB but smaller than a ladybug. I couldn't get a good look at it, even though it was about 10 feet away and about 10 feet off the ground. I could see it had tiny, very rapidly beating wings. In the shadows, I could not determine its color. It would not let me approach it for a better look.

What was really unusual was the behavior...the ability to hover precisely in one spot for 5-10 seconds, then disappear in a burst of blinding speed, then returning to the exact same spot about 20 seconds later to repeat the performance. This behavior cycle was repeated about a dozen times, after which it vanished.

I had lived in that area for most of my life and had never seen anything like it. The friend I was visiting, also a lifelong resident and familiar with the outdoors, reported that these guys showed up a couple of years ago and seemed fairly common now.

Time: late afternoon
Date: late May
Place: Tampa, Fl
environment: shady, highly wooded and vegetated residential neighborhood near a river, inside a large city.

I wouldn't bother bringing this up if it hadn't been so unusual and in an area where I am extremely familiar with the wildlife. Any entomologists out there care to hazard a guess?

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