#Periscelididae
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bertonemyia.bsky.social
And if you want to see what they look like up close, here's a composite image I made (thanks to Nolan for collecting and wrangling them for me)

#Periscelididae: #Stenomicra
#FlySchool2026
A composite image of five poses made by a single little yellow fly on a white background
August 8, 2026 at 7:12 PM
bertonemyia.bsky.social
Another great video of the #Periscelididae: #Stenomicra by #FlySchool2026 student Nolan Lake (the students are calling them "pac-man" flies 😂)
August 8, 2026 at 7:12 PM
bertonemyia.bsky.social
Not only are #Periscelididae very cute, some of the less spectacular-looking spp. are hypnotic dancers 💃🕺

#Stenomicra shuffles back & forth, easily gliding across surfaces. This large genus is found in the tropics often on banana leaves, etc. #FlySchool2026 Costa Rica

📽️: Nolan Lake [more ⬇️]
August 8, 2026 at 7:12 PM
bertonemyia.bsky.social
OK I thought Scutops was cute, but OMG #NEOscutops is amazing! 😍 I'm now convinced #Periscelididae is, per species, the weirdest family of flies (more evidence from another genus to drop later).

#FlySchool2026 Costa Rica

[And yes, @americanbeetles.bsky.social, it's cool partly because of beetle]
A small round beetle-like fly with a shiny black body and bright red head walks on a leaf. Dorsal view. A small round beetle-like fly with a shiny black body and bright red head walks on a leaf. Lateral view facing left. A small round beetle-like fly with a shiny black body and bright red head walks on a leaf. Lateral view facing right. A small round beetle-like fly with a shiny black body and bright red head sits on a white background. Lateral view facing left.
August 7, 2026 at 7:43 PM
bertonemyia.bsky.social
Officially the cutest fly I've ever seen 🥰 😍
It was a target genus of mine & Ezra Bailey was kind enough to save her live specimen for me to photograph [we've been lucky to see more since]. They mostly run around rather than fly.

SQUEEEEEEE!!!!

#Periscelididae: #Scutops
#FlySchool2026 Costa Rica
A small dwarf fly sits on a leaf facing right. It has a yellow stripe down its back and dark wings folded over the abdomen like a little beetle. Its face is pointed into a small whit blunt nose. It's eyes are red with a couple light stripes. A small dwarf fly sits on a leaf facing right. It has a yellow stripe down its back and dark wings folded over the abdomen like a little beetle. Its face is pointed into a small whit blunt nose. It's eyes are red with a couple light stripes. A small dwarf fly sits on a leaf facing right. It has a yellow stripe down its back and dark wings folded over the abdomen like a little beetle. Its face is pointed into a small whit blunt nose. It's eyes are red with a couple light stripes.
August 5, 2026 at 12:19 AM
bertonemyia.bsky.social
Stalked eyes or at least modifications similar to that are found in several families. Very common in Tephritoidea like the ones above & this picture-winged fly (Ulidiidae). More of a broad head in some (like Periscelididae below) & pointy eyes in others: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
May 7, 2025 at 8:04 PM