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Sticker of Peacock fly
Bug card No. 3278 of 4,939

Peacock fly

Callopistromyia annulipes
Name means: “it raises its wings like a peacock fans its tail”
Eats: Leftovers and dead thingsFlies and mosquitoesForests and woods6 legs

The peacock fly is a picture-winged fly with patterned wings. Males and females strut on rotting logs with their wings held straight up, like a peacock showing off its tail. Blue shimmers on the wings make the show even better.

Lives in
North America, and lately also many countries in Europe
Top speed
about 8 km/h (5 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
It lives on rotting trees and logs. Scientists still have a lot to learn about what it eats.
For real!Photo of Peacock fly
Picture by Siga. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It comes from North America, but it travelled to Europe by accident.

2

In Europe it has now been found in more than 15 countries, from France to Ukraine.

3

Both males and females do the peacock dance on rotting wood.

you asked

Most asked questions about Peacock fly

?Why is it called the peacock fly?

Because it raises its patterned wings like a peacock fans its tail.

?Where does the peacock fly live?

In North America, and now also in many European countries.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Callopistromyia annulipes
Group
Flies and mosquitoes
Family
Ulidiidae
Classification
Insecta > Diptera > Ulidiidae
Lives on
North America, Europe

Where the facts come from

  1. Callopistromyia annulipes (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Siga. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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