Originally posted by photolady95 Started my SIC today with my Pentax A 50mm f2 and Raynox DCR-250. Here's the first day: Straight out of camera except for cropping. Click on photo to see larger version. I think this is a Hoverfly but I can't be sure. Anyone?
Originally posted by WPRESTO I cannot at the moment tell you definitely what it is, but I can definitely tell you it is not a hoverfly (Syrphidae).
After a little look-in-book, I suspect that is either a horntail (family Siricidae) or a sawfly (Tenthredinidae) both of which are Hymenoptera = wasps, not flies. I'll do a little look-on-line and see if I can pin it down better.
photolady95, that's really an awesome shot! Lots of great detail. I agree with
WPRESTO that it's not a hoverfly (Syrphidae). On a quick look it appears to be a sawfly but if you look closer at your photo you will see a knobbed filament called a haltere behind the wing (you can see it's shadow too - way cool). As you probably know haltere behind a set of wing makes this insect one of the Diptera = flies. Except for the color scheme, this fly reminds me of a
black soldier fly (family Stratiomyidae), so my guess is that it's a type of soldier fly.
I posted a snip of your photo with red arrows pointing to the haltere and it's shadow.
Last edited by Naturalista; 05-22-2018 at 12:39 PM.