Common Brown Butterfly and a Syrphid Fly Laying Eggs in an Ants Nest

This beautiful little fly is Microdon amabilis, one of the Hover flies of the family Syrphidae.  It's very small, probably under 10mm. It can be seen ovipositing (egg laying) in and around an ants nest in the rotten timber of an old wooden bench in my backyard. The ants are Carpenter ants, Camponotus gasseri. The ants  seem a little uncomfortable about the flies presence. Not surprising given the larvae of  genus Microdon  will actually live within the ant nest feeding on the larvae and pupae of their ant hosts.

(Syrphid Fly Laying Eggs in Ants Nest (Microdon amabilis) - Click the play button )

Next up is the Common Brown butterfly,  Heteronympha merope. In Tasmania it is on the wing from late November through to March. The larvae feed on Kangaroo grass and other native grasses. The Tasmanian Common Browns are of the subspecies, salazar. Hopefully I will get better footage in the future but in the mean time I will add this to my Tasmanian butterfly playlist. Click here to see the playlist

( Common Brown Butterfly (Heteronympha merope salazar) - Click the play button )

Thank You!
Since September I've gone from about 12 subscribers on my YouTube channel to over 240. Thank you all very much for your support and encouragement. If you have not yet subscribed please consider doing so, as not all of my videos appear on this blog. If you are logged in with your google account you simply need to use the YouTube/Subscribe button below.

I hope you enjoy the video.

 Click the button below to subscribe to my YouTube Channel

Linked to Saturday's Critters