Female Physocephala tibialis with three males trying to claim her. Brampton Ontario
How did this image come about?
I was taking pictures of bees and butterflies in a part of Heart Lake Conservation Area that has a lot of wildflower plantings. I was in an area with goldenrod when I spotted a clump of something that included two Physocephala tibialis (a male and a female) and a Japanese Beetle. The flies seemed to move on from the beetle and they were joined by another male bringing the total to 3 flies. About 5 minutes later a third male joined in and then there was a lot of jockeying around for position. During this time I had to use one hand to hold the plant stem in the position I wanted and was shooting with the other. After about 90 pictures and 10 minutes the flies finally managed to get their formation lined up perfectly and I got the picture.
What do you like best about this image?
That all of the flies are in focus with a background that wasn’t too busy.