Sarcophagid Fly

A female Miltogramma punctata (Diptera: Sarcophagidae).

Specimen taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK on 2018-08-11.  Identified using the key of Pape, 1987.

Ephydrid fly

A male Dichaeta caudata (Diptera: Ephydridae) with its rather impressive tail of backward-pointing spines.

Specimen taken in Thames Valley Park, Reading, UK on 2018-08-04.

Snipe Fly

A male Chrysopilus laetus (Diptera: Rhagionidae). Another first for me.

Specimen taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2018-07-08.  Identified using the key of Stubbs & Drake, 2001.

Bee fly

A female Villa cingulata (Diptera: Bombyliidae).

A female because there is a distinct gap between the eyes and the ocellar tubercle:

and cingulata rather than venusta because the darkening on the wing is largely restricted to the costal cell and is only weak and discontinuous elsewhere:

This is the first Villa sp I have ever come across.  When I first caught it I assumed that it was an Eristalis sp hoverfly so let it go again.  But then almost immediately it occurred to me that there was something odd about it (something about the way it held its wings out when it settled) so I chased after it and caught it again.  Only then did I realise that it was probably a bee fly.

Specimen taken in The Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK on 2018-07-08.  Identified using the key of Stubbs & Drake, 2001.

Ulidiid Fly

A male Herina lugubris (Diptera: Ulidiidae).

The frons is bright orange:

Specimen taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2018-06-30.  Identified using the key of Clements (1990).