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Fly?
Hello,
There are lots of these little guys flying around my home in Haliburton ON. Hoping you can tell me a little bit about them. Thanks,
Jamie

Hi Jamie,
We can tell you this is not a fly as it has four wings and flies have but two. Maybe it is one of the Microlepidoptera. We are going to check with Eric Eaton and Julian Donahue to see if either can identify the family, genus or species.

Three Corrections: (11/09/2007)
Daniel:
Hahahahahaha! It fooled you:-) The images are of an aphid, probably one of the woolly aphids. They are dispersing now to alternate host plants where they will overwinter.
Eric

Microlepidoptera–Not! This is a male homopteran. My best shot is a Woolly Aphid, family Eriosomatidae. That’s the closest I can key it out from the photo–thank goodness the wing venation is clearly visible, as it fits this family perfectly.
Julian

Hello,
I am only a ninth grader, so I don’t claim to know much, but I think that the mystery microlepidoptera is actually a woolly apple aphid (Aphididae// //Eriosoma). I live in Wisconsin, and we have many of these little critters flying around our crab apples. They don’t seem to harm our trees much, but I have noticed that in late summer in the evening they will fly off the trees and “hover” in the air until dark. Another thing about the woolly aphids is that their “wool” will rub off if you try to catch them, which may be why this bug is not so furry. Thank you so much for creating such a wonderful site and advocating the wonderful world of bugs, it is definitely one of my favorite web pages-it is amazing. I hope I was of some help, if I am correct about this insect.
Amy
Fellow Bug Lover from La Crosse

Related Posts

1. Woolly Aphid (December 30, 2007)
2. Robber Fly eats Aphid (January 27, 2007)
3. Aphids and Aphid Wasp (May 29, 2006)
4. Woolly Aphid (July 17, 2009)
5. Woolly Aphid and Planthopper images (July 24, 2009)