Paul writes: I found this tiny fly on a Tansy flower growing along the field path next to my house in North Yorkshire. It is only about 4mm long, not including the ovipositor, so I really needed a photograph to fully appreciate it. This picture shows how colourful and beautifully marked even the smallest insect can be. It is a fruit fly from the family Tephritidae. The family gets its English name because the larvae generally feed on the fruits of plants. As with most small flies any definite ID is not possible from photographs, however the distinctive wing pattern shows that the fly is from the genus Urophora.
There are seven main species in Britain and they occur in most areas. August is probably the best time to see them, when the host plants are in flower. Favoured plants are Composites, especially Knapweeds and Thistles. The flies are quite static, when feeding and egg laying, so can be watched easily with a pair of close focus binoculars. The ovipositor is telescopic and the female uses it to lay her eggs in the plant tissue, where the larvae feed when they emerge.
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That’s a lovely clear photo, and with just three bands across the wing this ought to be Urophora stylata, which lays its eggs into thistles.
Looks a good fit for Urophora stylata to me: pale yellow scutellum (the obvious yellow bit between the wings, at the end of the thorax), pale yellow sides of the thorax (just visible from the photo), greenish eyes; plus the wing markings, which, whilst can be variable, taking in to account these, plus the other features mentioned in combination suggest this species. The larvae feed on spear thistle.
It is good to see invertebrates highlighted on this Blog, as well as birds.
And 2019 is the Year of the Fly – so apt that this is the first image for 2019. Follow the ever excellent Erica McAlister (@flygirlNHM) for insights in to this remarkable group of insects…and buy her book; which is a fantastic mix of science, amusing anecdotes, and of course, flies.
Richard
Martin & Richard, thanks for the ID. Stylata would have been my best guess but I’m always a bit reluctant to take a lot of flies to species level.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. (Groucho Marx)