"Friendly fly" in Minnesota - Sarcophaga aldrichi - BugGuide.Net

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Calyptratae » Oestroidea » Flesh Flies (Sarcophagidae) » Sarcophaginae » Sarcophaga » Friendly Fly (Sarcophaga aldrichi)

Photo#103329

Copyright © 2007 June Tveekrem

"Friendly fly" in Minnesota - Sarcophaga aldrichi

Cook County, Minnesota, USA
July 1, 2002
Size: ~ 10-15 mm

The damselfly is a Hagen's Bluet, but what is the fly? Minnesotans called them "friendly flies" because they would land all over you in great numbers but not bite. They are periodical, not every year. They were there in 2002. I don't know how many years in between appearances.

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Contributed by June Tveekrem on 15 April, 2007 - 1:08am
Last updated 1 November, 2008 - 9:39am

Moved

Moved from Flesh Flies.

… A.W. Thomas, 15 April, 2007 - 2:22pm

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Interesting story!

And funny! Friendly flies!

… Arthur Scott Macmillan, 12 October, 2008 - 9:26am

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Any Forest Tent Caterpillars

in your area? About every 7 years when the caterpillars numbers are high there is a masive increase in a parasitoid fly that knocks the population of moths way down. This fly looks like the parasitoid we get here in NB, it's Sarcophaga aldrichi

… A.W. Thomas, 15 April, 2007 - 8:39am

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Ah, yes!

That would be it. There are forest tent caterpillars.

… June Tveekrem, 15 April, 2007 - 11:28am

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A sarcophagid, a large and ho

A sarcophagid, a large and homogeneous group that all look more or less like this (in the Neartic at least)... and I'm pretty confident that there are not any periodical species... can't say that I've ever had one that was quite so friendly; they usually are a wary bunch

… Joe, Entomologist (in training), 15 April, 2007 - 1:21am

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Thank you for the ID.

I'll take your word for it about these flies not being periodical. But something makes them ridiculously abundant in northeastern Minnesota some summers and absent most years. And they definitely weren't shy. They landed by the hundreds on every bit of exposed flesh, as well as on your clothing. People noticed that for some reason, they especially liked white or off-white clothes. I wonder what they were doing - taking in salt or minerals from sweat, maybe?

… June Tveekrem, 15 April, 2007 - 6:19am

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