Boatman fly
Pogonortalis doclea
The boatman fly is an Australian fly that waves its wings like a rower pulling oars on a boat. That is how it got its name. The males have a bundle of long curly bristles on each cheek.
Lives in
Australia, and now also California in the United States, often in gardens
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
The adults visit fresh animal dung and feed on it.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Boatman fly about 8 km/h (5 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Males have pushing contests face to face, using the bristles on their cheeks.
2
During a contest the males lock bristles and push until one is shoved backwards and flies away.
3
The females have only one short bristle on each cheek.
4
It is very common in Australian gardens.
you asked
Most asked questions about Boatman fly
?Why is it called the boatman fly?
Because it waves its wings like someone rowing a boat.
?Does the boatman fly bite?
No. It is harmless to people.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Pogonortalis doclea
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Platystomatidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Platystomatidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania, North America
Where the facts come from
- Pogonortalis doclea (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Graham Wise from Brisbane, Australia. CC BY 2.0, 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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