Winter gnats lekking on a winter afternoon.

 A freezing cold afternoon, but a swarm of these winter gnats Trichocera sp. was dancing, in a shape-shifting column, above the garden hedge this afternoon, catching the last rays of sunlight as the sun was sinking towards the western horizon. They would have all been males, lekking, attempting to catch the attention of a female.

The flower border beside the hedge is covered in a thick layer of decaying autumn leaves - just the kind of place where the females will lay their eggs.

There are come close-up pictures of winter gnats here

Winter gnats

With the winter being generally mild, there have been small swarms of winter gnats Trichocera sp. in the garden throughout, with their larvae probably feeding on the rotting leaves that we've piled up to make leaf mould.

Lately these long-legged little flies have gravitated towards the last few crab apples that are still hanging on the tree, gently rotting in the spring sunshine.

It's a convenient site for mating. When a female strays into the dancing swarms of males she's quickly captured ..... and so begins the next generation of winter gnats. The male is on the right.