Editorial photo #9686872 Human Interest
Banana Stalk Fly Colony
Banana Stalk Fly (Neriidae) are slender, long-legged flies, a family of true flies (Diptera) closely related to the Micropezidae, found mainly in tropical regions. Neriids breed in rotting vegetation, such as decaying tree bark or rotting fruit. Neriid males engage in spectacular battles for territory or access to females, near -the egg-laying sites. The rivals elevate their bodies to an almost vertical posture, and pound each other with the ventral surfaces of their heads, strike each other with their forelegs, or try to place each other in a head-lock. The Mating couples of Banana Stalk Flys are on the bark of a rotten moringa tree at Tehatta, West Bengal, India on 04/03/2023. (Photo by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto)
