Order Diptera
Family Simuliidae
Black flies lay their eggs in streams and rivers. The larvae pupate in cocoons attached to rocks in the water. The adults burst out, rise on a bubble of air, and go forth to drive people crazy with their bites, in late spring or early summer.
Some species transmit a type of malaria that kills ducks, geese, swans and turkeys.
1. Start by drawing the slightly tilted wing. Look carefully at the example and draw the outline, almost straight on one side and more curved on the other. Add veins.
2. Draw the curved top of the thorax, head, eye and smaller details on the head.
3. Add two legs.
4. Draw the rear leg. Now add the segmented abdomen. Next, draw the legs on the far side of the fly.
5. Add shading and a bit of cast shadow. Shade the body and eye, leaving light areas to show the round forms. Lightly draw the outline of the other wing, and add shading and a cast shadow.