There are many species of flies across several families that are associated with fungi. In the video I talk about a few of them, but these fighting flies steal the show!
The males of the species (Tapeigaster sp.) are noted for perching on the top of various fungi – including common ones like field mushrooms. On small fungi there is usually only one male per fungal cap, and he tries to defend it from competing males. The aim is to mate with a female that is attracted to the fungus. She wants to lay her eggs in the gills of the fungus so the hatching larvae can feed on the fungus.
Check out the video to see what happens!