Green-Eyed Fly

I was walking back through in the woods between the car park of the Napier Road Tesco's and the mouth of the River Kennet, laden with bags of shopping when I saw a metallic-green eyed fly on a flower. I immediately thought 'horsefly' and put my bags down to get a closer look. It held its wings partly open and in the middle of each wing was a largish dark patch. The thorax and abdomen were brownish and black, with longitudinal stripes on the thorax. There was a suggestion of a yellowish patch on either side of the front end of the abdomen.  Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me. I tried to catch it in a plastic sandwich box but the fly escaped and flew off.

On getting home I had a look through Stubbs and Drake and was able to identify it as a female Chrysops sp, possibly Chrysops caecutiens (Diptera: Tabanidae).  Members of this genus sometimes known as deerflies; I have twice seen muntjac deer (Muntiacus reevesi) on the railway embankment near Tesco's.

Moth

A few nights ago this came in through our open living room window: probably a willow beauty moth, Peribatodes rhomboidaria (Lepidoptera: Geometridae).  Probably also a male because it has feathery antennae.

Photo taken in Reading, UK, on 2011-08-04.

Hybotid Fly

A male Hybotid fly, probably Hybos culicifomis (Diptera: Hybotidae).  Like a small Empid fly but without the long proboscis.

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2011-08-06.

Hoverfly

A female Scaeva pyrastri hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae).  In the males of this species the eyes actually touch each other on the top of the head (see here for a male from a couple of years ago).

This shows the female's face:

And this shows the flattened female abdomen which later swells up and becomes more rounded as it fills with eggs:

Photos taken in the field below Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2011-07-31.

Wasp

From the same day last month on which I saw the wasp with the long ovipositor: a very similar wasp but with a short ovipositor.  Probably a different species of genus Gasteruption (Hymenoptera: Gasteruptiidae).

Photos taken in the field below Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2011-07-11.