Apiocera in flight

Description:

During the last week I have watched these 1 to 1.5cm flies fly from flower to flower, getting patted on the back with pollen each time. They then sat down on a stick rested a short while, then cleaned and ate the pollen. A very sneaky way to get a feed. Each flower was visited for less than a second in time. "A small family of mostly rather large flies, somewhat resembling Asilidae and Therevidae. The Australian members of the family were revised by Paramonov (1953), and the Australian fauna now consists of the single genus Apiocera with 67 described and many undescribed species (Yeates & Irwin 1996). Adult Apiocera are strong, noisy fliers, and occupy a wide range of habitats, from sea beaches and desert to forests at high altitudes; at least half of our known species are associated with relatively arid conditions. ..."Atlas of Living Australia"Photo: Fred