Many bugs seem to have their own “dances” like butterflies twirling and darting around each other or dragonflies darting and hovering in territorial maneuvers. Our featured insect has the dance built right into its name. Dance flies, members of family Empididae have a unique mating ritual that gives them their name. Here is a quote from BugGuide.net’s Empididae page: “In mating swarms, males fly up and down in a sort of dance. They have captured an insect, wrapped it in silk, and hold as an offering for females. Females seem to choose the male with the most enticing offering. Sometimes a male may offer just an empty ball of silk.”

Interesting phenomenon. Keep dancing and have a good weekend everyone.