St Mark's Fly (Bibio marci)

Named for its habit of appearing around St Mark's Day on 25 April, the St Mark's Fly (Bibio marci) is one of those insects most people have seen but few can name. Its glossy black body and characteristic dangling legs make it easy to identify - once noticed, it is hard to forget.

St Mark's Flies take their common name from their habit of appearing around St Mark's Day (25 April) in the British Isles, though their season can stretch from late March into June depending on conditions. Males are frequently seen drifting slowly through the air in loose swarms, legs trailing beneath them, hovering at head height near hedgerows and woodland edges. This languid, almost aimless-looking flight is a mating display - females are drawn to the swarms, and pairing takes place on the wing.

Despite their unremarkable appearance, St Mark's Flies play a quiet but significant ecological role. Adults are effective pollinators, visiting a wide range of flowers, while their larvae spend months in the soil feeding on decaying plant material and helping to break down organic matter. They are a textbook example of the kind of uncharismatic insect that underpins ecosystem health without attracting much attention - essential workers of the invertebrate world.

Bugs is a collection of natural history illustration prints drawn from the insect world - beetles, flies, bugs, butterflies, and moths selected for the strangeness, beauty, and variety of their forms.

Each illustration is adapted from Simon Tyler's book Bugs, published by Pavilion in 2017 and subsequently published in French and Chinese. The series draws on the tradition of scientific natural history illustration - precise, considered, and attentive to the details that make each species distinctive.

Insects account for the majority of all known animal species on Earth. This collection is a small survey of what that diversity looks like.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 50 × 70 cm · 20 × 28 in

XLarge · 70 × 100 cm · 28 × 40 in

UK: Free · 3-5 working days

Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges

USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days

Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days

Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days

All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.

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Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

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