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Lesser Dung Fly Sepsis fulgens

The flies we call Dung Flies actually belong to more than just one family. Many of the Ensign Flies (Sepsidae) are dung flies as well and the best known species is this Lesser Dung Fly. They too deposit their eggs in dung and even the adults eat rotting organic materials. Most members of this family are small, shining black flies with a very rounded head and a body shaped like an ant's. This way they do remind one of Mickey Mouse. It is very difficult to tell the various species apart. The way the species below hold its wings is typical of this family: half open and half upright. The Lesser Dung Fly sometimes swarms. And such a group may consist of 30,000 to 50,000 animals!