Male Reproductive Behavior in the Anthomyiid Fly Hylemya alcathoe (Diptera)

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Abstract
On early evenings in June males of the anthomyiid fly H. alcathoe can often be found in large numbers at the edge of woodland clearings. In these locations the males perch on low-lying vegetation and dart out after passing insects. Mating pairs were occasionally seen on leaves. Each male tends to repel intruders from his leaf perch, but individuals rarely spend more than a few hours in any one spot. Some locations are far more attractive to males than others, apparently because of their proximity to conspicuous tree trunks and to overhanging canopy vegetation. The mating system of males of this fly appears to be analogous to that of those aerial swarming insects whose males gather over or by a prominent landmark and wait for receptive females to approach the marker-beacon.