Cladoderris
This is a beautiful adult female of the fly genus Cladoderris, probably C. convexa (family Platystomatidae). The elaborate markings on the body and wings of this species probably serve to camouflage the fly. The biology of the Platystomatidae is poorly known, and nearly all species for which information is available are saprophagous in both the larval and adult stages. This specimen was collected in the Kakamega forest of western Kenya, the easternmost example of Congo-Guinean rainforest. Kakamega is a unique forest in Kenya, containing many of the genera and species of plants found in the wet forests of central Africa. It also has affinities with the flora of the Kenyan Coastal forests. Kakamega forest is the type locality of C. convexa (i.e. the species was described from a specimen collected in that forest). It is also known from Uganda and the Republic of the Congo, adding faunistic evidence of the relatedness of Central African rain forests to Kakamega forest.
