This rather pretty little fly is blowing bubbles. Not only does this concentrate its liquid meal, but it can also help to cool the insect in hot weather.

Tiny, shining flies in this family are a common sight on low, moist foliage. The adults hunt small, soft-bodied prey such as springtails and worms. The larvae are also predators, feeding in the soil or under bark.

Austrosciapus … another of these tiny predators.

These large flies are well-known and widely disliked due to their habit of pestering humans for a blood meal. Interestingly, insect repellants have limited effect as march flies hunt by sight, not smell.