Mourning Horsefly

My journey today, a brilliant and warm one... yet again...  took me to an old favorite, Blue Pond in Hopkinton. When the dam that created the shallow, broad pond failed during the great floods of 2010, much of the water ran downstream, leaving a new and very interesting expanded shoreline. Walking it is always a natural history pleasure, and this trip was no exception. Surprisingly, given the gathering drought, the water level was higher than I expected, but it was warm, so wading the wetter spots was almost a pleasure, particularly given what I observed atop an emergent wetlands plant. This huge black horsefly was hanging head-down, and, as I watched, putting the finishing touches on her egg cluster. When the eggs hatch, they'll drop into the shallows and live as semi-aquatic larvae for up to several years before they emerge as full grown Tabanus atratus. The species name means "clothed in black," which gives the insect its alternative common name, the Mourning Fly. Thank God this female was busy with reproduction. Had I arrived earlier in her cycle, she might have seen me as a great source of the blood she'd have needed to maximize her egg-laying output. I'd be the one doing the mourning.