Dolichopodidae
Long-legged Flies
female Dolichopus plumipes - Cheshire, England - May 2009
About 5000 species of these small, usually metallic-coloured, flies have so far been described worldwide, 300 of which occur in the British Isles.
male Dolichopus plumipes - Cheshire, England - May 2009
Many males exhibit elaborate secondary sexual characteristics, such as the flattened tarsal plumes of D. plumipes (above and below).
male Dolichopus plumipes - Cheshire, England - May 2009
Most Dolichopodidae are predatory and can act as important control agents for a number of agricultural pests.
Lancashire, England - May 2009
Compared to most other robberflies, D. rufipes is quite sluggish. Their mainly Dipteran diet is usually supplemented with a sizable proportion of Hymenopteran prey, including parasitic wasps such as the victim photographed above.
Cheshire, England - May 2009
County Kerry, Republic of Ireland - July 2008
Argyra argyria - Cheshire, England - June 2008
The white spot at the end of its dark, smoky wings make Poecilobothros nobilitatus a distinctive species.
Poecilobothros nobilitatus - Cheshire, England - July 2009
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