Fossil Fly | Plecia pealei (Love Bug) | Green River Formation, Wyoming | Eocene | 40–45mm PHASMATIDAE no significant damage)

no significant damage)

oval body and the characteristic hissing sound produced by forcing air through its spiracles — a behaviour used in defence and communication

Named for its distinctive collar-like marking (collaris meaning "collared")

and adjacent islands of the Indonesian archipelago

evidenced by their distinctive upturned mouths designed for surface feeding

Fossil Fly | Plecia pealei (Love Bug) | Green River Formation, Wyoming | Eocene | 40–45mm PHASMATIDAE no significant damage)A beautifully preserved prehistoric fly in oil shale matrix, recovered from the celebrated Fish Layers of the Green River Formation. Plecia pealei, commonly known as the Love Bug or March Fly, belongs to the family Bibionidae (Order Diptera) and inhabited ancient freshwater lake environments during the Eocene epoch, approximately 4550 million years ago. These specimens were recovered from the Fish Layers of the Green River Formation in Wyoming, USA a