Mark McCaughrean

A couple of bonus flies from the garden today – it was cloudy & dark, & while not cold, it wasn't warm either.

The first one seems fairly clear: it's a heleomyzid fly (🇩🇪 Scheufliege), Suillia variegata. Pretty patterns on the thorax.

First picture is a macro stack, while the second is a single image taken a bit closer, showing the compound eye nicely.

#Heidelberg 🏰
#Photography 📷️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
#BugOfTheDay 🐞
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#InsectsOfMastodon 🪰
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲

5:59pmWeb
Show threadMark McCaughrean4h ago

Second one's harder. A tiny black fly, likely in the subfamily Empidinae, the dance flies.

Nailing the species is tough – Wikipedia has an image of Rhamphomyia umbripennis which looks almost identical, but they're not common. There are few shots on iNaturalist, where they typically have redder eyes.

Do the feathery hind legs help narrow it down? 🧐

#Heidelberg 🏰
#Photography 📷️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
#BugOfTheDay 🐞
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#InsectsOfMastodon 🪰
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲