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Good evening,

In one of my first posts Paul gave this explanation to a picture of a fly loaded with eggs :

"this is what we call a 'gravid female': a female with an abdomen so full of eggs that it seems about to burst open any moment."

This Tanyptera atrata-lady really did burst open.

Ben

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On what do you base the supposition that this female really burst? From the picture it is not clear that she did. The pale part you see just appears to the the integument between the tergites and sternites though which the internal abdomen can be seen.

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Paul,

I based my supposition upon the signal that my eyes sended to my brains when I saw the animal.
Your reaction however suggests that my brains misinterpreted the signal, and looking in one of my guides I see you're right : It seems to be quite normal in the more primitive families.
My mistake was to compare it with the fly beneath but that's something different.

Ben