Green Hoverfly

Description:

This tropical hover fly was photographed in Mauritius. Like all hover flies the males display predominantly in beams of sunlight piercing through the foliage by showing of their aerial skills. Holding position in a perfect hover and seeing off other males that try to take his spot is the goal. The beautiful green, metallic coloring is exactly what you would expect from a creature in the tropics and their dazzling flying antics are a great entertainment.

Habitat:

From Islands in the pacific to the tropical Orient and Asian continent.

Notes:

This represents a benchmark for me and my photography and the subject was photographed with a macro lens from a distance of around 25 cm. The trick in this case was the size of the fly and patience. Often the small midge hover flies are very small and the regular hover sized ones are just to quick or are simply passing through the garden looking to feed.The trick is to find displaying hovers and observe their flight paths and then slowly step into them and hold position patiently. Eventually they return to a regular spot which if you are positioned right is nice and close. (At this stage if you are still they see you as just another object). Use a sports mode on your camera or a setting with a high shutter speed to snap fast and accurate.