Hours & Admissions
Directions
March 25, 2021
It's time for the Thursday edition of #BenInNature presented by our friends at Carter Bank & Trust!
Ah, spring! The weather starts warming up, the flowers begin to bloom, and flies descend on my home like a scene out of The Amityville Horror!
Yes, some of the signs of spring are definitely better than others. Every year for about a week or so, hundreds of houseflies (Musca domestica) congregate on the warm, sunny sides of my house and on my car (as seen in the photo). I'm sure many of you have noticed the same thing; one day there will be no houseflies, and then suddenly they're everywhere. Where do they all come from?
While many species of flies are active throughout the year, houseflies aren't big fans of cold weather. When the weather starts turning cold, they find a little crevice, crawl inside, and enter a state of diapause, which is sort of like hibernation for insects. Although adult houseflies normally only live a couple weeks to a month in the wild, they can last throughout the winter when they enter diapause. Once the weather warms up, the flies come back to life, emerge from their hiding spots (in my case, the crevices in my vinyl siding), and venture off to find mates.
ABOUT #BenInNature
Social distancing can be difficult, but it presents a great opportunity to become reacquainted with nature. In this series of posts, Administrator of Science Ben Williams ventures outdoors to record a snapshot of the unique sights that can be found in the natural world. New updates are posted Monday - Friday, with previous posts highlighted on the weekends. This series of posts is made possible thanks to the support of VMNH Corporate Partner Carter Bank & Trust (www.cbtcares.com)
NATURE PHOTO IDENTIFICATIONS
If you discover something in nature that you would like help identifying, be sure to message us right here on Facebook with a picture (please include location and date of picture) and we'll have our experts help you identify it!
