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I have these guys all over my garden. They hang out on various plants and trees but they don't seem to be doing any damage. I'm just very curious as to what they are!

Any ideas?


I know it's not much of a close up, but the wing shape is so distinct I thought that might be enough to ID them. The wings are always out at that angle.

I think it's a picture winged fly.
https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/mis ... _picta.htm
I see them a lot in my compost pile and also on layered grass clippings in the garden.

Thank you lindsay! You are dead on. I've been looking through all kinds of lists of flies, all insects in maryland, etc. And hadn't seen a single picture winged fly. These websites need to update their lists! Thanks again!

You're welcome !

I saw them up close several weeks ago while tying up my tomatoes. They were on the grass clippings that I mulched with.

I looked them up and now I see them all over the ground, on the mulch, on the tomatoes, squash, in the compost heap... Pretty much everywhere!
I think they are pests, not beneficial, but I don't see any damage from them. They're neat to watch.

I have these too! I've been wondering if they are a problem or not.

I don't think that they are considered a beneficial.

Idk though, I looked it up and it says that they CAN lay in living plant tissue, but in field trials they found them mostly in heavily decomposed plant tissue.