Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

A common problem in our homes, especially in the cooler areas of Aotearoa: gazillions of flies settling into your spare room, on the ceiling of a quiet place, or in the roof cavity.   The flies arrive at your place in autumn and find a good spot to hibernate – just like they do in their countries of origin: Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, the UK, the USA, and Canada.    Pollenia pediculata is the cluster fly species we discovered on the North Shore for the first time in 1984. It may have arrived in some containerised luggage or cargo (we were not sure when we found it), it’s now well-spread, often in the cooler spots of our country.   It is quite a gorgeous fly species, with golden hairs on its back – easy to spot as it often sits quietly.   Flies have just one pair of wings whereas other insect orders usually have two pairs of wings in the adult stage. The second pair of wings is turned into small “halteres”: modified hind wings that provides stability when in flight.   F