Calobatinae
A common theme for the Calobatinae seems to be ponded sediments of some nature. Ranging from small areas caused by water sources pooling alongside woodland tracks through gulleys in which vegetation helps retain sediment, to spring-fed overgrown pools and depressions by the side of lakes and rivers which are regularly inundated. Each of these supports plant communities of a different nature, one feature of which that seems significant is the presence of certain plant species with aerenchymatous roots such as the bulbous buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus), the Celery-leaved buttercup (Ranunculus sceleratus) or Carex spp. Other tall herb vegetation is also necessary, such as nettles, a favourite for perching, displaying and grazing. The presence of tall shade shrubs and trees ensures humid conditions and helps maintain a continual rain of food in the form of droppings, dead insects and aphid honeydew.
Predatory hypothesis: Colyer & Hammond reported observations of this species with an aphid and hypothesised that the species is predatory. This hypothesis is repeated in subsequent works by other authors. The labium is articulate with a sponge-like labellum at the end (see Malcolm Storey's images). The paired mandibles and maxillae are present, but reduced (not as much as a housefly). These characters are typical of a non-specialised sponging feeding mechanism. According to Giancarlo Dessì these structures are associated with a simple sucking function thus restricting the feeding opportunites to saprophagy, glycophagy (on honeydew and on exudates of aphids and other sedentary invertebrates), coprophagy, phytophagy (damaged leaves), pollinivory & necrophagy.