شناسایی Flies (Diptera)

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Wasp-like Hover Flies

Wasp-like Hover Flies

Below two rather small but colourful species. Apparently they have to try to survive with no common name in English. Try to get the one to the right in your garden, preferably in great numbers, for the larvae feed on plant lice.

Two small species: Didea fasciata, a woodland species to the right. Dasysyrphus tricinctus is the name of the one to the right.

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Wasp-like Hover Flies

Wasp-like Hover Flies

For a long time we thought that the fly below to the left was a Soldier Fly. But luckily Hans-Peter Tschorsnig corrected us. It is a hover fly that doesn't look much like the other hover flies. Most of the times it sits in the sunshine on a leaf, it apparently rarely visits flowers. Another fequent visitor in our garden is the very small hover fly to the right. It is easy to identify the little devil, for it has a curiously thickened hindleg with a red spot on it! From a distant it looks very plain indeed, but its real beauty unfolds in close up.

To the left: This unusual Hover Fly is called Xylota segnis. To the right: Syritta pipiens is a beautiful hover fly, at least when you take a closer look.

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Wasp-like Hover Flies

Wasp-like Hover Flies

The species below to your left looks like S. pipiens above very much, but it lacks the thickenings in the thighs. It is a hover fly that is very common and often more abundant in your garden that you would believe, but the species is very unobtrusive indeed. Common throughout the entire country. Here it is photographed in an Evening Primrose. The flowers of this plant provide excellent backgrounds for photographers! To the right its cousin Melanostoma scalare. It's even darker, is more slender and reaching a length of 9 mm, about 1 mm bigger. In the field however that is not easy to see. Luckily many males have a strikingly greenish halters. Males and females differ very much, though. Both species are welcome visitors to the garden, for their larvae feed on aphids. And by the way: thank you Hans Endt for the identification of these species.

To the left the very common Melanostoma mellinum. To the right the slightly less common Melanostoma scalare.

Melanostoma scalare: the animal in the middle is a male, the other two are females.


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Other Hover Flies

Other Hover Flies

Other Hover Flies

A strange hover fly is the Heineken Hover Fly below to the left. It is coloured like a bee, but doesn't really look like one, mainly because of the snout. It is very common all over Europe. The larvae live in dung, especially in cow dung. This species is easily identified, for there is no other species like it. For a long time we didn't know the identity of the species below to the right. The way the veins are arranged in the wings suggested a hover fly, but the species' wings are very small and we didn't know of a hover fly having such beautiful eyes. Luckily Han Endt identified the animal. In Dutch it is called the Meadow Spotted Eyes, but alas, we did not find a common English name. Remarkable about this hoverfly is the lack of the mentioned 'floating vein'. Be aware identifying this species though. There is a very similar species, also with strikingly marked eyes: Eristalinus aeneus. This species however can only be found right at the coast, or on the banks of some large lakes. The species has a vast territory: it can be found not only in
Europe and Asia, but in Japan and Northern America as well!


The famous Heineken Fly (Rhingia campestris) to the left is a hover fly as well. To the right the very striking Eristalinus sepulchralis, related to the Drone Flies.

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Other Hover Flies

Other Hover Flies

Species belonging to the genus Cheilosia are black mainly. There are some 40 species (at least here in the Benelux), all very similar. Many species will reach a length of well over 10 mm. Sofar we have identified only one: Cheilosia caerulescens, of which you can see the picture below. For identification look for these factors: the eyes are hairless, the legs are partially yellow, the scutellum is black and the middle vein in the wing is darkened. Chances are however you'll never see it, for as far as we know it is not a British species. Very small black hover flies might belong to the Pipiza genus. These are extremely hard to name, for their are at least 5 species, all having the same appearance and all quite variable. To tell the species apart, their genitals have to be studied under a microscope. All species are black, sometimes with yellow markings on the first abdominal segment. These markings are hard to see, for the wings are folded over them. Many species live in woodlands. The larvae eat aphids and other plant juice sucking small insects.

To the left: Cheilosia caerulescenshttp://www.gardensafari.net/english/picpages/cheilosia_caerulescens.htm appears regularly in gardens on the continent. To the right: this small, black hoverfly belongs to the Pipiza genus.

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Robber Flies (Asilidae)

Robber Flies (Asilidae)

Robber Flies and alies (Several families)

Robber Flies (Asilidae)

Robber-flies, also known as Assassin Flies, are rather unattractive, hairy flies that hunt other insects, especially flies and mosquitoes. They are excellent flyers. They have a rather short, pricky snout, which they use to attack their prey and suck them dry. They are not easy to identify, for their are many species that do look rather similar. Just try to tell apart the species below. Thanks to the Dutch expert Han Endt we now know however that to your left is the Common Awl Robberfly. It is the most common Robber Fly in our garden. To the right with the greenish eyes Neoitamus cyanurus, another frequent visitor in our garden. Most individuals have a favourite spot to which they return after a kill. Robber flies may attack preys that are as big as they are themselves. They catch their prey in flight.

To the left: the Machimus cingulatus (Machimus cingulatus) is all over our garden. To the right: Common Awl Robberflyhttp://www.gardensafari.net/english/picpages/neoitamus_cyanurus.htm.

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Robber Flies (Asilidae)

Robber Flies (Asilidae)

Below to the left Paritamus geniculatus, a less striking species. Is known to be rather rare, but that might be due to the fact it leads a very inconspicuous life. The species is only found on light sandy soils. Can be found in both Europe and the Near and Middle East, but it appears not to be numerous anywhere. Below to the right yet another, but rather similar species. The areal of this species is enormous. It lives not only in Europe and Turkey, but in Nortern Asia and Japan as well. On the British Isles though it is a very rare and endangered species. Well, my British friends: you can come to my garden and collect a few anytime. Robber Flies are not very afraid of people and therefor often easily photographed. Eutolmus rufibarbis usually attacks big prey: frequently even bigger than they are themselves, like Damsel Flies. Apparently Dragon Flies are a little too fast for him.

To the left the very uncommon Paritamus geniculatus. To the right the much more common Eutolmus rufibarbishttp://www.gardensafari.net/english/picpages/eutolmus_rufibarbis.htm.

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Robber Flies (Asilidae)

Robber Flies (Asilidae)

Ruud van der Weele identified the species you see below to the left, Han Endt the one to the right. These species differ a bit from the other robber flies at this page: the wings are dark, the body is shorter than the wings en the legs are colourful. In this way it looks rather like a hover fly or a house fly. But just look at the needle shaped snout: This is a robber fly indeed. This species is very common in gardens in Western Europe. Of the robber fly to the right we managed to take only one good picture. If you don't look carefully, you might think it is a wasp and not a fly. There are several Dioctria species looking like that. The one below has the unique combination of a wasp like figure and yellowish legs.

To the left : this robber fly Dioctria oelandica is less frightening. To the right: a wasp like robber fly, called Dioctria hyalipennis.

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Robber Flies (Asilidae)

Robber Flies (Asilidae)

Below to the left a light greyish robberfly. It has remarkable light legs. Not a very common species though, found in Southern England and Southern Wales only. More about this species by the time we make a separate information page about it. In the future we will also inform you about the robberfly below to the right: Philonicus albiceps

To the left: Neomochtherus pallipes is a robberfly with strikingly light legs. Philonicus albiceps to the right is much darker.

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Dance Flies (Empididae)

Dance Flies (Empididae)

Dance Flies (Empididae)

The Dance Flies, also known as Balloon Flies, Empids or Dagger Flies, look very much like Robber Flies, but they are a bit more slender usually. They are hunters as well, capable of capturing remarkably big prey. The bigger species can be easily distinguished from Robber Flies as they have a long, dagger-like snout. The males often dance in small groups, each holding a prey. Should a female pass by, the males offer her their prey. She chooses the best looking prey and the couple disappears in the bushes. While copulating the female Empid sucks dry the prey offered by the male. The Dance Flies below apparently has no common name in English. The fly below to the left is one of the biggest and can be seen easily. The species below to the right actually is more common, but behaves in a less striking way. The difference bewteen the two is best seen by looking at the legs: Empis tesselata has black thighs and the remaining part of the legs are reddish brown. Empis opaca has orange reddish legs, including the thighs.

Both Empis tesselatahttp://www.gardensafari.net/english/picpages/empis_tesselata.htm to the left and Empis opaca to the right have impressive snouts, but they are unable to hurt people.

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Dance Flies (Empididae)

Dance Flies (Empididae)

The fly below is known as the Black Dance Fly in Dutch. And indeed, this species is all black. It can be identified easily by looking at the rough hairs on the legs. In Holland it is an uncommon species usually only found near the big rivers. In Belgium it is rare. We could not found much references to this species in Britain on the internet, so it is quite psossible this is not a British species at all. But we are not absolutely sure about this. More about this species in the future.

Het vrouwtje van de zwarte dansvlieg (Empis ciliata) heeft zeer zwaar behaarde benen.

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Dance Flies (Empididae)

Dance Flies (Empididae)

Not very like its brothers above is this Empid below. It is shiny black, only 6mm long and has a very short snout. It belongs to the genus Hilara, of which some 60 species may be found in Britain. And it is a hell of a job telling the species apart. We have good reasons to believe this is Hilara maura, but we can not be absolutely certain. Of all Hilara species only the males have these swolen front legs. Actually these are silk producing glands. The male produces a thin silken wire and wraps his wedding gift in the silk before seducing a female. Hilara maura is especially seen on or near water. The small fly attacks whatever he thinks is edible, including pond-skaters! These are far too big for him, but attacking them, he will. This is one of the most common Hilara species in Britain.

No long snout, but curiously swollen front legs: a male Hilara, and most likely a male Hilara maura.

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Stilletto Flies (Therevidae)

Stilletto Flies (Therevidae)

Stilletto Flies (Therevidae)

This family of long bodied and very hairy flies has not been studied very well. At this moment some 3,000 species are know to be around world wide, but probably there are many more. The majority is rather small. The adults often are difficult to find, because they don't show up on flowers like for instance the hover flies do. The adults hunt in a Robber Fly way, the larvae, looking rather like worms, live among dead leaves. They eat evrything from rotting plants to other insects and worms. Only a very few species regularly turn up in gardens. Most of these belong to the Thereva genus of beautiful velvet flies. The species below is one of these: Thereva nobilitata, a beautiful golden Stilletto Fly. We only know that it does live in the UK as well as in the Benelux, but we do not know anything about areas and numbers. The identification has been made by Andre van Eck and Kevin Holston (thanks to Martin Hauser).

This Stilletto Fly is known as Thereva nobilitata.

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Flies and Gnats (Nematocera)

Flies and Gnats (Nematocera)

Flies and Gnats (Nematocera)

Gnats are the most primitive Diptera. Compared to flies they have longer antennae. They are more slender than flies and usually have much smaller eyes, except for the males of Fever Flies. Gnats are responsible for spreading a number of serious diseases, such as malaria, dengue and yellow fever. The mosquitoes in Western Europe and the USA do not carry any of these diseases, but there are irritating biters among them. Most gnats, such as the green species and the woodgnats, are harmless and will never bite you at all. Some gnats may be seen in large groups, dancing over the pond. Some species even do so in the middle of winter.


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Crane-flies (Tipulidae)

Crane-flies (Tipulidae)

Crane-flies (Tipulidae)

Among the flies and mosquitoes in Europe crane-flies are striking, because they are much bigger than the other Diptera flies. The biggest Crane-fly of them all, a tropical species, may reach 7 centimetres (or 2.8"). Crane-flies do not sting people, as a matter of fact most adults don't even eat at all. The larvae however eat grassroots, thus causing brown patches in the lawn or meadows. Farmers and gardeners are not fond of these larvae, better known as leather-jackets, at all. Luckily some species of birds, especially the Rook and the Black-headed Gull, are fond of them and also Hedgehogs will eat them when given a chance. We do not know the identity of the species below to the left. Depicted below to the right most probably the male of Tipula vernalis, a species seen in springtime mainly.

To the left a typical crane-fly Tipula sp. To the right most probably Tipula vernalis.

Attention, please: the picture to the left is extra large (2048 X 1536 pixels, 374 Kb.) for the true fly lover.

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Crane-flies (Tipulidae)

Crane-flies (Tipulidae)

There are more crane flies in Western Europa. Actually there are about 90 species in the Benelux alone.Most of these are much smaller than the Tipula species and their larvae live in decaying wood. Some species have yellow stripes (like many of the hover flies) to immitate wasps. Just like Harvestmen, Crane flies may confuse their enemies by shedding a leg. That is why so many have less than the usual six legs.

Two smaller crane flies. We believe the one on your left to be a Limonia species.

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Crane-flies (Tipulidae)

Crane-flies (Tipulidae)

The crane-flies belonging to Nephrotoma show some more colours. They are commonly known as Tiger Crane Flies. The one to the left below shows some of the spots, but is black mainly. We are not sure about its identiry. In early spring 2005 the species below to the right suddenly turned up in our garden in rather great numbers. It took us a long time to get a definite ID on this one. There is rather little information at hand on the numerous Tiger Crane Flies, alas. It turned out to be Nephrotoma appeniculata.

To the left a Tiger Crane Fly we haven't been able to identify yet. To the right the dark, shiny and beautifully marked Nephrotoma appeniculata.

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Gnats (Culicidae)

Gnats (Culicidae)

Gnats (Culicidae)

This is a dreadful family of small to medium sized mosquito like creatures. Most of the stinging species in the world belong to this family. The head carries a well protected injection needle. When a victim is found, the case that protects the needle is lifted and the needle is injected. Then the animal excretes a substance to prevent the blood from congealing. Now this is the most dangerous part of the process, for this is the moment infected animals inject diseases into man's bloodstream as well. Next the animal sucks blood for some five minutes and flies off. Only female mosquitoes sting, the males are harmless, most can't bite at all as they do not have functional mouth organs. The female needs the blood to produce her eggs. The blood contains some proteins that she can not make herself. The Common Mosquito is the one that spoils so many nights in fall. The Banded Mosquito (also known as Banded-legged Mosquito) is the biggest species of bloodsucking mosquitoes in Western Eutope.The House Mosquito (in the USA also known as Northern House Mosquito) to the right prefers birds over people, but overwinters in our homes and thus is seen very often.

To the left the Banded Mosquito (Culiseta annulata) and to the right the House Mosquito (Culex pipiens).

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Gnats (Culicidae)

Gnats (Culicidae)

As males do not bite it is good to be able to tell the difference between the two. In mosquitoes that is much easier than you might expect. Males have huge, plumelike antennae. The Common Mosquito below is one of the most awful species, at least in Western Europe. It often sucks blood out of humans. Even the males are a nuisance. Even though they won't bite, they fly about at night buzzingly, keeping you just as awake as the females do...

This probably is the worst of them all: the Common Mosquito (Aedes punctor). A male to the left and a female to the right.

The one in the picture to the right drank so much of my blood that it wasn't able to fly for a while. We took advantage of the opportunity photographing the beast and, yes we are ashamed having to admit to it, killed it.


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Wood Gnats (Anisopodidae and Chironomidae)

Wood Gnats (Anisopodidae and Chironomidae)

Wood Gnats (Anisopodidae and Chironomidae)

Some Wood Gnats do look like the ordinary Gnats, but luckily Wood Gnats are harmless animals, that will never sting anyone. Still the Window Gnat is often killed by humans for it looks like a biting Gnat very much. The two families of Non-Biting Gnats are also known as Midge Flies. The Window Gnat is one of the better known gnats, for it is attracted to light and can be found near windows, especially in spring time. The adults can be found all year long, though. The larvae live in rotting plants and rotting plant parts. Adults appear in two variations: greyish black or reddish.

This is the very well known Window Gnat (Sylvicola fenestralis).

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Wood Gnats (Anisopodidae and Chironomidae)

Wood Gnats (Anisopodidae and Chironomidae)

The larvae of the true wood gnats (Chironomidae) all live in water. The adults often dance in the air in enormous numbers. There are however other mosquito families of which some species swarm. These dances are often part of the mating ritual: the males dance together and the females select the perfect mate. Biting and non biting gnats really do look like oneanother. Still in some cases it is easy to tell them apart, especially resting on a wall or tree: the biting animals all have their last legs up in the air. The non biting species however put their first pair of legs into the air. Like in many other mosquitoes the difference between the male and the female are in the antennae: those of the mail look like big brushes, those of the female are hard to notice. Thank you Tony Irwin for your help identifying these gnats.

Two unidentified Chironomidae species. To the left a male, to the right a female.

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Wood Gnats (Anisopodidae and Chironomidae)

Wood Gnats (Anisopodidae and Chironomidae)

Gnats make up a big family of well over 300 species in Britain. Many species are very similar indeed. Thus it is virtually impossible to tell the species apart from pictures alone. This is true for other groups as well, like the parasitic wasps for instance. Below a few recently photographed gnats. We have no idea what species we are talking about. It is interesting to notice the very short antennae of many of the females.

Two more Gnats, which can't be identified from just a few pictures.

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Wood Gnats (Anisopodidae and Chironomidae)

Wood Gnats (Anisopodidae and Chironomidae)

Within the Chironomidae family there is a well known tribe of green species called Blood Worms. They are named after their larvae which are red and often sold for feeding fish. These mosquitoes are often seen in groups dancing in the air, sometimes even in the middle if the winter. Only in close-ups can one admire the beauty of these creatures.

Here are two adult Blood worms (Chironomus sp. or Tanytarsus sp.).

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St. Mark's Flies (Bibionidae)

St. Mark's Flies (Bibionidae)

St. Mark's Flies (Bibionidae)

Despite their name St. Mark's Flies (also known as Fever Flies) are mosquitoes and not flies. The females usually have small eyes, but the males have very big eyes indeed and that's why they're called flies. In springtime you often find numerous small fly looking mosquitoes of the Bibio generus. Dilophus species also appear in spring, but their small eyes give them away easily. And then there are many other species of small black flies and mosquitoes around in spring, most of which are simply called Black Flies. You'll have to consult an expert to tell all the species apart. Based on findings in books and the internet our guess is that to the left below is a male Hawthorn Fly. Judging from the more colourful legs the one below to the right could be a female Black Gnat.

The the left probably the St. Mark's Flies (Bibio varipes) and to the right perhaps the St. Mark's Flies (Bibio johannis)

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St. Mark's Flies (Bibionidae)

St. Mark's Flies (Bibionidae)

The best known species is the real St. Mark's Fly. There are however two species with the same common name: Bibio marci and Bibio hortulanus. We are not sure at all which of these species is depicted below. The one with the big eyes is the male though...

We think this could be the St. Mark's Flies (Bibio marci or Bibio hortulanus). To the left a male, to the right a female.

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St. Mark's Flies (Bibionidae)

St. Mark's Flies (Bibionidae)

There is another, rather small and very hairy species: Bibio lanigerus. It is a very common species in most of Britain, but you have to look carefully if you want to identify it. It looks like the Hawthorn Fly a lot, but it has reddish legs, at least partially, while the Hawthorn Fly has black legs. In both species we see the same kind of difference between males and females.

Bibio lanigerus. To the left a male and to the right a female.

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Moth Flies (Psychodidae)

Moth Flies (Psychodidae)

Moth Flies (Psychodidae)

The Moth Flies are very interesting mosquitoes indeed. They do look like tiny moths a lot, buet they are absolutely not. Their wings have lots of hairs, but no scales like those of moths. Furthermore they have only one pair of wings, where moths have two pairs and finally they lack the long tube-like tongue of the moths. They are called flies, but their antennae give them away: they actually belong to the mosquitoes. Usually species from two major genera are seen. The Pericoma-species, the majority of which have dark and well marked wings and the Psychoda species, which usually have whitish, greyish or silvry wings, which are rather unmarked. In English the Moth Flies are also called Owl midges. They are sometimes seen indoors. Usually a drain is broken, or there is standing and polluted water under or near the house in some other way. The insects are harmless, but often unwanted, especially in great numbers.

A Moth Fly looks like a moth, but is a mosquito. To the left a dark-winged Pericoma species and to the right a silvry winged Psychoda species.

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Fungus Gnats (Mycetophilidae)

Fungus Gnats (Mycetophilidae)

Fungus Gnats (Mycetophilidae)

The Fungus Gnats are small to very small gnats. Their thorax is always rounded effecting in the animal always looking downwards. Most species have long legs, but a segment is always going upwards. In most species one of the segments is thickened. The larvae of some species are specialized on fungi, others live in decaying leaves. The specialized ones enter a fungus from the middle or top, for that is the place the eggs are deposited. The ones living in leaf litter often enter the toadstools from the base. Without microscope it is very hard to tell the various species apart.

This is a Fungus Gnat, even though we do not know to which species it belongs.

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