Subject: Ornate Snipe Fly, Chrysopilus ornatus, Family Rhagionidae

Location: Upshur County, West Virginia

Stock Number: 06-25965

Comment: This species is one of two common gold-backed Snipe Flies found in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. The other species, C. thoracicus, has darker wings.

The Ornate Snipe Fly is found in and near forests and woods, where it perches on the leaves of low shrubs. Adults prey on smaller insects. The larvae are also predatory, and are believed to live primarily in decaying plant material.