Antlered flutter fly

Toxonevra superba

Eats: A bit of everything Flies and mosquitoesForests and woods6 legs

The antlered flutter fly is a tiny yellowish brown fly with clear wings. Its wings have dark brown marks that look like a deer's antlers. The males stretch out their wings and make them flutter.

Lives in

Eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and Alberta to Georgia

Length

3 to 6 mm (0.12 to 0.24 in)

Top speed

about 6.9 km/h (4.3 mph)

Flying, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Harmless

Harmless. It is a tiny fly that does not bite or sting.

What does it eat?

Its larvae feed on plants and may also eat the larvae of bark beetles.

Photo of Antlered flutter fly — Picture by Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

small enough to sit on your fingernailcould fly across a whole football pitch in 55 secondsmoves 320 times its own body length every second

How big is Antlered flutter fly compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)

Antlered flutter fly about 6.9 km/h (4.3 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

It likes damp, shady places.

Its back has two pale stripes and two neat rows of bristles.

Besides its two big eyes, it has three tiny extra eyes on top of its head.

you asked

Most asked questions about Antlered flutter fly

?Why is it called the antlered flutter fly?

Its wings have dark marks shaped like antlers, and the males flutter their wings.

?How big is the antlered flutter fly?

It is only 3 to 6 millimetres long.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Toxonevra superba
Group: Flies and mosquitoes
Family: Pallopteridae
Classification: Insecta > Diptera > Pallopteridae
Lives on: North America

Where the facts come from

Toxonevra superba (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 Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA. 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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