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Volume 26, Number 10
16 May 2007

pp 2443-2605

Flies are friends - Flies receive a lot of bad press, though only a few species are pests or cause a nuisance. Flies play an essential role in the decay and decomposition of organic material and waste, and are important pollinators of crops and wild flowers. Some are also friends to the gardener, eating aphids. Moreover, fruit flies have played a major role in our understanding of genetics and evolution. Nothorhaphium aemulans(Dolichopodidae; see cover), is a very small and long-legged animal. The males are known to dance in competition for females. To capture this tiny specimen a fast telephoto lens was combined with an inversely attached f1.4/50mm lens. Copyright: Martin Oeggerli, 2007. Join the photographer on his fascinating explorations of the microcosm and macrocosm at www.micronaut.ch and www.martinoeggerli.ch

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