Balloons created and clutched by little dance flies, that is . . . as described in my book. Over time, different species in this family of insects developed variations on the basic dance that forms their courtship ritual--"as close to behavior fossils as we're going to get."
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| Dance flies with "balloon." © Ken R. Schneider |
I've never seen this spectacle, but now my brother has! He was even able to get this photo. You can't really see it, but attached to the balloon is an even tinier edible insect for the female to nosh on during mating.
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