ENT 532 Fall 2024: Flies and Pond Skimmer Sketches

A few quick sketches of two flies and a pond skimmer I collected from Millbrook Marsh Nature Center (09/22/2024).

Thoughts from sitting on the boardwalk along the creek:

10:50am: Partially cloudy. Here I sit, the thrum of crickets and calls of various birds accompany me as I look out across the marsh on the boardwalk. A dragonfly flits past, darting around until a woman and two dogs walk by. As I sit, I observe two flies dancing around each other, touching the water before quickly returning to a plant leaf protruding from the shallow stream. They stop for a moment before continuing the performance. Meanwhile, a pond skimmer sits unmoving, perched upon a partially submerged leaf. When another pond skimmer approaches, the first moves slightly, now facing perpendicular to the leaf blade it sits upon. When I look back, though, the second pond skimmer has disappeared. I wonder why the flies would zip between the water and the leaf? Was the dance a mating ritual? Is collecting water a part of the potential mating ritual?