Tooth and claw

It was still windy today, but less so than yesterday, and it was also a little warmer and brighter. R and I had stuff to do in Stratford this afternoon, including for me a trip to the dental hygienist (yeurgh), but much as I'd have liked to combine our errands with a river walk, I was fairly sure that the overcast and gusty conditions wouldn't be conducive to dragon activity. I therefore spent some time in the garden this morning, and managed to secure the day's photos before we went out. Yesterday I had to take 792 shots to achieve a dozen acceptable photos, but today the ratio was 9 keepers from 71 frames - which says a great deal about the easing of the weather over the past twenty four hours.

I was searching an overgrown dogwood down in the wild garden for subjects when this Yellow Dung Fly swooped in and landed on a smaller fly, with what I promise you was an audible smack. I don't actually know (and researches this evening haven't enlightened me) how Yellow Dung Flies kill their prey, but the process appears to be a quick one, because by the time I'd found an angle on the pair and focused the camera, the unfortunate victim wasn't struggling any longer and the predator was enjoying his lunch.

Yellow Dung Flies are sexually dimorphic: males such as this one tend to be much brighter and yellower, as well as bigger, than the rather drab brown females. The adults mainly eat other insects, though they will take pollen and nectar from flowers, and as the name suggests will also eat dung. However, their primary reason for visiting dung is to mate, and in the females' case to lay their eggs. While waiting for a female to show up, the males will occupy themselves by predating other scatophagous insects. The larvae burrow into the dung and feed on it until they're large enough to pupate, at which point they burrow into the surrounding soil; the developmental time span from egg to emergent adult fly varies between one and four months, depending on the ambient temperature. 

Yellow Dung Flies are regarded as important in the ecology of livestock farms, both in reducing the population of pest flies, and for the part they play in the decomposition of animal dung. In a world where too many people seem to think that any creature they don't like the look of should be promptly and ruthlessly eliminated, and the internet is full of helpful advice on creating a pest-free environment, I always personally find it helpful to try to see the bigger picture.