A family portrait photograph of 4784 flies from a single family of flies. Each fly is meticulously labeled with information of its provenance and some of these flies mimics/pretends to be other insects like bees and wasps to cheat predators.
A family portrait photograph of 4784 flies from a single family of flies belonging to world-renowned fly expert Martin Hauser. Each fly is meticulously labeled with information of its provenance and some of these flies mimics/pretends to be other insects like bees and wasps to cheat predators. Martin is employed by the United States Food and Drug Administration to monitor and prevent the accidental entry of pest insects into California. Specialized sniffer dogs are deployed at border crossings in California to detect insects that might be present in agricultural produce entering California. Border officials will take a photograph of these insects and send them to Martin. Sometimes the photographs are of the eggs of insects that the dogs detect in fruits. Martin has to determine if a truck or cargo is safe to cross into California.
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