I call this guy the nastyfly because he bites. At least I think he does.
There were some flies that were attracted to my wet sweaty head. Usually they would come from a tree then fly around my head and land on my alleged bald spot (people tell me I have one but I don't see it in the mirror). They would usually bite about fifteen seconds later.
The flies that I swatted looked a lot like this fly, but they might have been different. It is possible that the flies I swatted were deer flies, and I think this could be some kind of fruit fly. I have seen nothing in the books that indicate that fruit flies bite people.
Whatever this is, it is kind of neat. It has promenant black markings on its wings and when I photographed it (and at other times when I just observed it) it was doing some kind of visual display, standing with its wings spread wide, then turning to face a different direction every half minute or so. What was it displaying to? I couldn't see. How can this insect which is so small find another insect of the same kind it probably can't see? They can fly long distances relative to the size of their bodies. Does their visual display have an effect over a distance of more than about a foot (the distance I can see it from)?
The plant this fly is on is the spectacularly beautiful swamp milkweed, which is found in wetlands all over Iowa.