No, not the operating system. I’m talking about physical windows in a building. If some doors, other windows, or even the whole side of the building are open, windows can be fantastic places to collect flies. Like most dipterists, I go right to the windows of any building I am in, to see what is there. Sometimes, people look at me as if I am crazy, but I forgive them because they just don’t realize how cool flies are yet (top to bottom, a ropalomerid, stratiomyid, and tababid).
Wendy Porras and I just got back from La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica, where half of the dining room is wide open, while the other half has screened windows throughout. We found a lot of extremely photogenic flies, some of which I show here. We put them in a more pleasing background than screening, wrangled them to sit still, and got the shots we wanted. A little honey on the leaves helped, as some flies were apparently hungry after several hours of banging their heads against metal cables.
The entry hall of our Maastricht Natural History Museum is one of my favourite collecting sites. When the main entrance door, situated on the east facade, is open on a warm day, it is to invite the public to visit the museum. However, it is also an open invitation for all dipterans to enter. They soon discover the museum is the place they want to stay for a longer time. If I am fortunate I can extend their stay for what I hope is eternity by collecting them from the window opposing the main entrance door. I already discovered ten species that were not recorded from the Netherlands before right on our doorstep and quite a few other rarities.
What a great story! Thanks, Paul.
Great shots, that soldier fly is a real beauty. Can’t beat tabanid eyes either.
Thanks, glad you liked them.
Does someone know what’s the ID of the second one, that looks like a soldier fly?