Today, 25th May, is St Mark's Day, and because this particular insect appears on or around this day and only lives for about a week, having spent a year as an underground larva, it is named after the saint.
You usually notice the males flying about in a blundery sort of way with their long, hind legs dangling. Their big eyes are divided so that the top half keeps a lookout for females perched on vegetation and the lower half helps them gauge their height above the ground.
When the females have been mated they lay their eggs and then die.
The larvae feed on grass roots and any decaying vegetable material during autumn and winter and then the following year they emerge, just like their parents on St Mark's Day. As they only live for such a short time it's a wonder that they time their emergence together.
Although these St Mark's Flies are big, black and hairy they are quite harmless and rather unruffled by human presence. You can pick them up quite easily.
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