The title of this post could probably sum up my life, except I am not sure I expected much to begin with. It’s all a bit of a mystery to me; I guess that’s the part I am trying to embrace. And like life, we have the moth fly. And yes it is a fly, though it probably more resembles a moth; at least that was my first impression. These very small creatures (this one measured no more than 4mm) are kind of cute, fuzzy things if one can see them up close, but they lose some of the cuddlies when you learn that their other common names are “drain flies, sewage flies, [and] filth flies.” It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out where those names come from. The larvae live in “organic sludge,” and are often found in bathrooms. The larvae also “play an important role in purifying sewage in industrial sewage treatment plants.” So bully for them. Typical time periods from nascence until adulthood are 7 to 28 days; weak-flying adults putt-putt around for about two weeks. I found this particular specimen under the bark of a log; it was fairly docile, and not really near any bathrooms or sewage treatment plants. Maybe it was trying to figure out the mystery of its life.

*The info and short quotes above were taken from the Psychodinae (Moth Flies) page on BugGuide.net.