Big-headed, Red-legged fly – Male March Fly
This fly also came to the light on June 1, 2014.
It appears to be a March Fly, genus Bibio. The big head and eyes mark it as a male, the females have much smaller heads. Like this one that we caught on our window the previous year. Based on the size, the red legs, and the general appearance, I’d say that Bibio femoratus is a pretty likely candidate.
The eyes are surprisingly hairy. Although, given that the hairs point straight up, they probably don’t obscure the vision of the compound eyes much if at all.
The larvae are evidently maggots that normally live in decomposing leaf litter, or sometimes animal dung. The adults are known for emerging in massive numbers, usually in the spring. Further south this would be in March, but for us they evidently don’t come out until May. But we can’t call them “May flies” because that name is already taken!
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