LOL pathetic fly

[joggerjayne]

Reuters reports that one of the world's rarest flies has been found in Kenya.

It's called the "Terrible Hairy Fly".

It is thought to live only in the Ukazi Hills in Kenya.

The last examples to be discovered were in 1933 and 1948.

And this insect is ... flightless !

LOL ... pathetic !

How, exactly, is an insect classified as a "fly" if it can't ... fly!

(?)

[NazNomad]

... RE-discovered?

Had they forgotten that they'd discovered it previously?

[joggerjayne]

"Discovered" in the sense of "found" I suppose.

Perhaps, more accurately ...

"The last examples to be "recorded" were in 1933 and 1948."

=0)

[China Doll]

It's not pathetic... just 'special' or 'individual'.... ;0)

[NazNomad]

Gotta love the BBC, lol ...

That reminds me, I need to rediscover my car keys. :-))

[B00]

Are ya pi$$ed tonight or something Jayne?

You're lolling at a lot of things.

[joggerjayne]

But it can't fly !

For a fly, I think the inability to, err, fly ... is a bit pathetic.

Well, Have I Got News For You is on now, so we're done here.

x

[China Doll]

I need to re-discover my sense of humour... Can you all look down the back of your sofas please?

[NazNomad]

Although it is 'terrible' and 'hairy' ... I think the inability to fly is the least of its worries.

[askyourgran]

lol B00.
I've heard that the flies around the kharzis in Africa are tremendous. Maybe someone swatted the Terrible Hairy one and it couldn't fly for a bit and it got confused with another fly.

[Answerprancer]

If it can't fly, it should be called a "walk".

[Prudie]

I've just googled and it looks like a terrible hairy ant

[askyourgran]

Or even a crawl, AP. How can it come back, where has it been all this time? It''s probably been trapped in Al Wongos jock strap.

[Ankou]

one reason that the insect is so rare is that it has no easy way to spread from one place to another. unlike many insects, it has no obvious way to cling on to animals, and its wings are not capable of flight. it is believed that the fly could be the only species of fly that is completely restricted to africa.

these strange characteristics have left biologists unsure about where it belongs in its taxonomic order. its appearance doesn’t help – it looks more like a six-legged spider than a fly.

the latest scientists to find the creature will use molecular analysis techniques to try to work out where the “terrible hairy fly” fits in the evolutionary process.

in fact, they decided that it does fit into the diptera order (two winged) family (like all the over flying flies), but as a lonely species in its own family (awwww)….mormotomyiidae (diptera, superfamily: hippoboscoidea).

its taken a while to rediscover because of where it lives in a very small part of a very large continent.

[starone]

Urghh - where's my fly swat/insect repellant/flyspray. Or I could step on it. Hard.

[Ankou]

and wipe out a whole family..........??!

[starone]

With a bit of luck a whole species Ankou. if they are that rare.

[rowanwitch]

evolutionary dead end?

[joggerjayne]

I think so, Rowan.

It must be thinking to itself ... where do I go from here?

And frankly ... if it hadn't been "rediscovered" ... would we lose too much sleep?

[rowanwitch]

of course now there will be research scientists running around looking for a mate for it ...it will be e harmony for useless bugs....

[joggerjayne]

Rowan ...

I'm sort of with Starbuck, actually.

The scientists could spend the next few years trying to find mates, and regenerate the species ...

... or they could spray it with Raid.