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suicidal tiny fly with spotted wings & sharp stinger
October 11, 2009
i spotted this on the bathroom sink. it looked like it had antlers instead of wings. upon closer inspection with the assist of a macro image i was surprised to see what appeared to be a sharp stinger. it stayed still for quite a while, then it suddenly hopped into the toilet and disappeared with an eventual flush. it was too late to save it. i hope it wasn’t some endangered species of a fly.
guilty for flushing it away
western north carolina

Flutter Fly

Dear guilty,
This is some species of Fruit Fly in the family Tephritiae.  There are may species posted on BugGuide but we did not locate a match for your image.  What you have mistaken for a stinger is the ovipositor of the female Fruit Fly.

Daniel:
The “unknown fruit fly” from western North Carolina is actually a “flutter fly” in the family Pallopteridae, closely allied to the true fruit flies.  Not much is known about them because they are not of great economic importance.
Eric

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