Existing comment:
Alkali Flies:
Underwater Flies:
Mono Lake's flies have adapted to this highly alkaline environment in interesting ways. The adult fly walks down the tufa to feed and to lay eggs underwater. It carries enough air attached to its holy to stay down for 15 minutes. Once an egg hatches, the emergent larva grazes on algae, extracts oxygen from the lake water, and stores alkaline waste salt in a lime gland. The larva becomes a pupa, the final underwater stage. During this stage, the pups grow into an adult, breaks open the pupa case and pops to the surface as an adult to begin the feeding and breeding cycle again.
Surprisingly Edible!
All life stages of the fly are fair game for birds. The Kutza Dikaa people depended on the fly pupae as a food source. After the thin shells are removed, the pupae taste and look like nutty, buttery rice. Traditionally, the Kutza Dikaa traded this treasured food with tribes in Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra. |