Drain Fly, Psychodidae. photo by @MyOtherUsername@lemmy.world

edit realised that the username in the title and post had a bit chopped off

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What do these drain flies live off of? What was their habitat before they (I assume) lived in drains?

Just in general what can you tell me about these?
- According to wikipedia
  
  '....they feed on bacteria and can become problematic...In small numbers, the larvae are sometimes considered beneficial, as their strong jaws can cut through the hair and sludge waste in drains which might otherwise form clogs....'
  
  As to habitat prior to humans building drains and shower stalls etc, probably stagnant water, but I'm just speculating
  
  edit according to wikipedia '...live in aquatic to semi-terrestrial or sludge-based habitats...'
  
  thank you TIL! I always wondered about these
What always surprises me about these things is how fragile they are. You just press on them with your finger and they turn to dust.
Huh, didn't know they were so fuzzy. Interesting.
- Neither did I, they're really quite beautiful. Unfortunately my only experience of them has been a plague of them at work, and god they're fucking annoying, harmless but annoying
Amazing photo! The drain flies I see just look like overgrown Drosophila (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosophila_melanogaster).
- It is, @MyOtherUsername@lemmy.world has been posting some really nice macro photos recently, they're worth checking out. I have commented on their original post that I cross posted this here, so hopefully they may start posting on awwnverts too
  
  You'll see me there after subscribing! ;)

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