- Messages
- 182
- Name
- Stuart
- Edit My Images
- Yes
This is a female Platypalpus, a rather small predatory fly of the family Hybotidae. There are 88 species on the British list in this genus and identification can be tricky, I certainly cannot run it to species just from this photo. It also helps to have a male since the genitalia is often useful in confirming the ID (although there are a number of species which appear to be parthenogenetic - males are either very rare or don't occur at all!) They tend to be found running over vegirtation (like this one on a shrub in my garden) or, in some cases on bare ground such as riverside sand and gravel, and are generally reluctant to fly - but they tend to be quite zippy in their movements. This was taken at 4:1 repro ratio - one of the highest magnifications I have attempted in the field.
