Sciomyzid Fly

A Sciomyzid fly, probably Limnia unguicornis (Diptera: Sciomyzidae).  The only other Limnia sp found in the UK is Limnia paludicola but that has uniform brown longitudinal band ('vitta') on the top of the thorax.  Furthermore, it has been suggested that L. paludicola may not be a truly independent species and could eventually be found to be just a variant of L. unguicornis.

Photo taken in the field below Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2011-05-16.

Big-Nosed Hoverfly

A male Rhingia sp hoverfly, probably Rhingia campestris (Diptera: Syrphidae).  In Rhingia rostrata the side of the abdomen is not as dark.

The flower is germander speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys).  The fly is sucking up nectar through its proboscis which it has extended and bent down out of the protective sheath that is the big 'nose'.

I have been getting fleeting glimpses of these hoverflies in the same place over the past few weeks but this was the first time I managed to get a photo that wasn't blurred.

Photo taken in the field below Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2011-05-16.

Dragonfly

A female broad-bodied chaser dragonfly, Libullela depressa (Odonata: Libellulidae).  In males the abdomen is light blue instead of yellow.

Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2011-05-13.

Hoverfly

A hoverfly, a female Parhelophilus sp (Diptera: Syrphidae), similar to Helophilus but with orange antennae instead of black.  It could be either P. frutetorum or P. versicolor as the females of these species are rather hard to distinguish from photos alone.

Photos taken on the dam at the lower end of the large lake in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2011-05-13.

Picture-Wing Fly

Some more photos of the grey picture-wing flies that I first saw last month: species Platystoma seminationis (Diptera: Platystomatidae).

Photo taken in the field below Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2011-05-09.