Subject: Weird butterfly creature
Geographic location of the bug: Kingston Ontario Canada
Date: 02/08/2018
Time: 05:35 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: This weird bug was hanging around my dock in June. It had a very long body, and was pretty clumsy when it flew. It looked as though its body was to heavy to support it. It hung out in the cedars for a long time and then disappeared. I have tried to figure out what it is through google, a bug book and friends and no one has a clue! Hoping you can help!
How you want your letter signed: Martha
Dear Martha,
This is not a butterfly. It is a Dark Fishfly in the genus Nigronia which is pictured on BugGuide where it states: “Emergence of adults may be synchronized. Adults are diurnal (seen flying near streams) and also nocturnal, so come to lights. Eggs are laid on the underside of vegetation overhanging a stream. Larvae are aquatic, predatory. Perhaps take three years to mature in more temperate areas, such as West Virginia. Pupation occurs in earthen cells on the edge of streams.”