Saint Mark's Fly

If you are saint you get lumbered with a lot. First you have to go through the trauma of a horrible death, and then, like as not, folkloric tradition will associate your name with some sort of pestilence.

Mating in one of our pear trees
(male to the left, female to the right).

In Saint Mark's case, it's a fly - it could be worse... The saint's day was yesterday, 25 April, and as luck would have it, the date coincides with when a rather dopey black gnat emerges in large numbers. Bibio marci is a large primitive fly, glossy black all over and very hairy. They drift about above the grass with dangling legs, in a distinctly lacklustre fashion, searching for mates. They don't bite or sting or carry any sort of disease, but they can be a slight nuisance just from their sheer numbers if you are outdoors in late April/early May.

A female rests on a plantain bud.

Saint Mark's Fly, as it is known, is easy to identify because of its size and because it is completely black. Males are smaller than females, but have huge hairy eyes. Females have much larger bodies but miniscule pin heads with tiny eyes.

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Health News: I am suffering from one of my periodic bouts of laryngitis. I can't speak above a whisper, my throat is sore, my nose is running and my joints ache. I don't think I'm contagious though. I suspect it is a pollen allergy -- most likely canola or birch. Typically I lose my voice completely for about 10 days, so our clients on Saturday are going have an interesting time of it! I'm off to develop my mime skills...