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The Delhi Sands Flower-loving
Fly
A little buzzing marvel
Photo Marjorie Nelson / USFWS
The word "fly" is inadequate and wrong
to describe this amazing creature.The Delhi Sands Flower-loving
fly is a marvelous creature one of the largest flies in the
world it is more like a minature humming bird in nature. An
inch long, it hovers and has been observed to occasionally
visit flowers for their nectar.
It is a highly endangered animal and only around
two percent of its former habitat now remains. It occurs only
on around four to five hundred acres of habitat in Southern
California.
The female Dehli Sands Flower-loving fly has
a long ovipositor and lays her eggs an inch or two beneath
the soil under the shade of shrubs. The eggs hatch in around
eleven to twelve days. It is known that the larvae are specialised
for burrowing but nobody has yet been able to work out what
they eat. All attempts at rearing this fascinating creature
have so far failed.
This lovely insect is highly threatened by the
destruction of its fragile habitat. Cultivation of the rare
sands, development of buildings and even dumping of cow manure
are all threatening its long term survival.
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