The largest fly on the planet is the species Gauromydas heros, belonging to the family Mydinae of the diptera. The habitat of this insect is the forests of North America. The Russian name Gauromydas heros is a fly fighter. The species has a neotropical distribution (Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay).
The insect was first described in 1833 by the German entomologist Perty and entered the scientific literature under the systematic name Mydas heros. After 6 years, the species was assigned to the genus Gauromydas. In the English version, this insect is often called Mydas fly, which is not entirely correct, because in addition to the fly-fighter, the Mydas family includes 399 more representatives of dipterans with different sizes.
general characteristics
The size of the largest fly on the planet is really impressive: the body length of the insect can reach 6-7 centimeters, and the wingspan - 10-12 cm. It would seem that this is not so much for an insect. Nevertheless, in a series of flies, Gauromydas heros looks like a real giant.
In 2005, a study was conducted that correlated the possibilities of dipteran metabolism with body size and environmental conditions (temperature and composition of the atmosphere). As a result, it was found that the sizes of Gauromydas heros are close to the maximum possible value for flies.
Nevertheless, the large dimensions do not prevent the insect from developing good flight speed. Therefore, in a collision with the human body, Gauromydas heros can leave a decent bruise the size of a five-ruble coin. Whether this fly is dangerous by anything else is not currently known.
Appearance and photo of the biggest fly
Gauromydas heros is a very beautiful fly almost the size of a human palm. The body of this insect is shiny black, with a smooth surface, and there is no visible hairiness. The wings of males can be whitish, brown or orange.
Gauromydas heros looks much more noble than most of its two-winged relatives. The appearance of this insect is more like a black wasp or cicada.
Lifestyle
The biology of Gauromydas heros is currently very poorly studied, since adults (adults) are very rare. It is known that males of this species feed on flower nectar, and females do not feed at all. The larvae of Gauromydas heros are predators. They live in the home of ants of the genus Atta, hunting for insects that eat formic flour. In this case, immature insects act as food.
As females lay their eggs in anthills, males circle over these earthen buildings, controlling the territory and providing a lot of mating.
Before transformation into an imago, the larva of a soldier fly digs a chamber in the soil and pupates.