---

Hello,

I observed yesterday in Paris this little yellow fly (4-5mm) which was sucking honeydew dropped by aphids. To go from one leaf to the other, it didn't fly, but jumped.

Any idea about the genus?

Thanks in advance.

---

It is a member of the Lauxaniidae, most likely Meiosimyza (= Lyciella). could well be M. platycephala.
Many lauxaniids seem to prefer to walk and jump-fly rather than really fly. Possibly because many can be found among folliage. jumping there will often give another place to sit without much flying and in this way you can conserve energy (think with a human mind, of course).

---

Paul,

Thanks for the ID and for the idea behind the jumping. It's makes sense. Since I just continued to keep the finder on the shutter switch, I got this series.