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This was on apple tree leaves in June. Males engeged on in combat throwing on each other their proboscis To learnrn more about this tactic one shoud know what flies they were. No idea!!! I submit a still frame from my camera filming footage. They were small flies some 2- 3 mm long.

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Well, what do we have? Acalyptrate fly with C break near R1.
It seems that Sc reduced.
In reality, flies are black (as on small images).
I think that most probable candidate is Milichiidae.
Nikita

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And the long proboscis would make Phyllomyza a likely candidate.

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Are we sure these are two males? I wonder whether these may be a male and female getting carried away in some pre-nuptial behaviour. Does each fly have a long proboscis, or does one fly have two very long palps? Why do some Phyllomyza males have very long palps, if not for this sort of fun?

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Cherchez la femme!!!

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Looking at this photo on a better screen, I think I favour the equally-matched proboscis-fighting explanation, though I suspect they are actually Desmometopa. I suppose that any small fly that spends its time stealing from spiders is likely to be a bit prone to physical confrontation - stress and so on.
In any case it's a remarkable picture. Is there any way we can get to download the film? - it would be wonderful to see the action!

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Considering the number of Desmometopa specimens that can be found on a single 'host', feeding together, I doubt that stress will be the cause of a physical confrontation iike this. If I remember I will dig up my copy of Sabrosky's paper on Desmometope (you could be right there) and see if he mentions anything.

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Females!!! Even more interresting. That was a funny day. I was engaged in "nice shots" (flowers, ants so on) for commertial TV and it was sunny day but little windy, so leaves moved. I had no time to concentrate much on flies, but on young apple tres around the were two fly shows! On suny leaves there were jumping dolichoforid (?) flies. They were engaged in some ritual competition jumping alternately till one left. (see the picture, what species again????) at the same time on the same trees but on more shady leaves I noticed these grey flies wrestlinfg. They were rather fast and the leaves moved, so I could not make any valuable filming just this stop frame

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F:/Milichidae_behavior_Krasnoyrsk.jpg

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Hi! The link would have worked if you had put the file on a server accessible by all via HTTP (i.e. not just your own hard disk drive) ... or you could use the attach function (beware the file limitations, naming conventions etc).

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RU, Siberia, Krasnoyarsk, early summer (spring in terms of Moscow Region). On leaves of Padus avium.

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Posted on 19-10-2006 11:37 are Chrysotus sp. (Dolichopodidae)

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Igor, do you this are there the same spp. no my and Komarik pictures. Time about the same, his on cherry leaves, my on apple leaves?

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Hello mwkozlowski & komarik,

Both your photo's show the species Desmometopa microps. New for the fauna of Poland and Russia.
Also new is the spectacular behaviour observed and photographed. This has not been reported in any other species of Desmometopa to date.
Could I use your photo's in a publication I am writing together with Irina Brake?

Kind regards,

Ectemnius