The wildlife and wild places of Leicestershire and Rutland
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Flies
All images on this website have been taken in Leicestershire and Rutland by NatureSpot members. We welcome new contributions - just register and use the Submit Records form to post your photos. Click on any image below to visit the species page. The RED / AMBER / GREEN dots indicate how easy it is to identify the species - see our Identification Difficulty page for more information. A coloured rating followed by an exclamation mark denotes that different ID difficulties apply to either males and females or to the larvae - see the species page for more detail.
Flies
Asilidae - Robber flies
Most Robber flies are bristly and have a 'moustache' of bristles on their face to protect them when attacking prey. They have a short, strong proboscis, used to stab and inject victims with saliva containing neurotoxic and proteolytic enzymes which paralyze and digest the insides; the fly then sucks the liquefied meal through the proboscis.
Britain's Robberflies - Malcolm Smart Excellent illustrated presentation covering UK species.
Hybotidae - Dance flies
Formerly included in the Empididae as a subfamily.
Empididae - Dagger flies
They are mainly predatory flies and generally small to medium sized, non-metallic and rather bristly. The 'dagger' refers to their sharp, piercing mouthparts.
Dolichopodidae - Long-legged flies
LESOPS 50 - Dolichopodidae VC55 Status - Ray Morris
Platypezidae - Flat-footed flies
Most members of this family are woodland specialists associated with fungi. The best way to find them is to look out for their characteristic behaviour of running around quickly on leaves, often in circles. Search for them in autumn especially on Sycamore, but also Ivy, Oak and other species.