I thought it was dead

Author Koh Lin ◦ 

When I saw it in the water, I though it was dead!

It was a small black looking insect floating in the swimming pool, approximately 7 mm in length. When I fished it out of the water, it certainly was lifeless. Then it slowly revived. At the time, I did not realise I had documented this very same insect around the same time last year (on the 12 September 2024 to be exact)… Therevidae (order Diptera).

It is not the first time, I have found insects that appeared deceased… many were fished out of the swimming pool, dead in appearance, but then they slowly revived…

• Golden Native Drone Fly (Eristalinus punctulatus) rescued from a swimming pool in Alice Springs, Northern Territory.

Unfortunately sometimes they are dead…

• Ellipsidion humerale (deceased) in swimming pool in Alice Springs.

• Orthetrum caledonicum, deceased male Blue Skimmer, from pool in Alice Springs.

• Deceased (drowned) Plume Moth (family Pterophoridae) in pool, Alice Springs NT.

• Genus Craspedogryllacris / Tribe Paragryllacridini (deceased in swimming pool).

• Male Radumeris tasmaniensis (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) rescued from a swimming pool in Alice Springs, Northern Territory.

• Leioproctus sp (rescued from swimming pool) in Alice Springs, Northern Territory.

• Male Red-headed Mouse Spider (Missulena occatoria) rescued from a swimming pool in Alice Springs, Northern Territory.