While the grounds outside my dorm are teeming with unknown organisms, I managed to locate a little stranger in the bathroom just down the hall in the form of a small black moth-like insect clinging to the wall next to the shower. It occurred to me as I brushed my teeth that I had seen these insects in every state I’d visited, but never learned their proper name. Determined to rectify this lapse, I rinsed out my mouth, snapped a blurry photo, and set to work.
I quickly discovered that these insects were not moths, but flies– drain flies, to be precise, of which there are over 2,600 described species according to Wikipedia. However, I was lucky enough to discover the exact species I was looking for fairly quickly. It would appear that my six-legged hallmate is of the species Psychoda alternata, one of the more common species of drain fly in America. Attached are my original photograph and a clearer shot of the same species I found online for comparison.
