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Fly mimic
These are photos of a kind of fly mimic ! I think these are extremely hard to spot and capture. In a blink of an eye, the vanish, it looks like a shell behind it’s back but it can travel in incredible speed. Would you mind tell me what species of fly is it . I’m located in Malaysia. The fly is found in my garden’s passion fruit plant. Do you know what species of fly is it ?

The head looks like a fly, but the body looks like a beetle. We believe it is some species of fly. We will contact Eric Eaton to get assistance.

Hi, Daniel:
The fly is a “beetle-backed fly” in the family Celyphidae. There are about 90 species in the family (surely more that have yet to be discovered), collectively occuring in Asia and tropical Africa. The “shell” is actually just an enlarged scutellum, a body part that is normally quite small, the last dorsal segment of the thorax. Bizarre, aren’t they?!
Eric

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