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Animalia >Arthropoda >Insecta >Diptera >Platystomatidae >Rivellia >

This is a fly about 5.5-5.6 mm long. It has horizontally-long eyes and a grotesque proboscis, which looks like a gas mask. Its larvae are said to cause feeding damage to root knots of soy beans.

Mating behavior was observed on a leaf of the cone flower (Rudbeckia laciniatai) in an area beside an irrigation channel. Wormwoods and reeds were growing in the same area.

A male chases a female while opening and closing its wings and the female avoids the male by changing the direction of its body axis. They go over this process repeatedly. They copulate once the female lowers its wings and body. As the female starts opening and closing the wings, the two touch each other with their proboscis. It looks like kissing. After they repeat kissing, the male give some sort of liquids to the female mouth to mouth. After another kissing, both open their wings. They repeat this process several times. They then separate and the female secrete some liquids from the anal region and put it on the leaf. The female licks the liquid on the leaf. And then the two go over the entire ritual, starting with the male”Ēs chasing of the female, again and again.

Sign stimulus that signal transition to the next movement seems to be given by the female. This fly species probably has been kissing since long before the history of humans. It makes me think the origin of kissing lies here. (translated by Asoh)

(Data No.momo051009ra01b)

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