Thanks Chris - you are right, it has both those features.   Good to know what it is.  Rob

Hi Cathy. First thing to note is how bristly the legs are - this suggests it may not be an acalypterate. Looking at the top of the thorax - there is a well-marked suture running across in front of the wing bases, so this indicates it is a calypterate fly (includes muscids, tachinids, etc.). Hopefully you will now be able to key this to Scathophagidae and use Stuart Ball's excellent key to get it to species.

You can find Stuart's key here: http://scathophagidae.myspecies.info/content/identification

Thank you - this is clearly a case where my notebook did not keep pace with my pooter.  We were living in Devon at the time, and no doubt my record stems from work on the south Devon or Cornish coast.

That's brilliant! Thanks so much Tony; I really appreciate it. I'll have a go now...

I had a go at keying this out with Stuart's key and I've ended up at Scatophaga furcata.

Recorded on a footpath near Leeds, W. Yorks.

What do you think?

Many thanks,

Cathy B

Looks good to me.

Hi Colin

I'm not certain, but I think the old website has now been closed. Information about references to families is available on this site. Go to Resources/DF Membership Area/Keys - description of families. You will find the references listed under "Identification" at the foot of each family account. But you will have to manually scroll to the list of references to see what they are - perhaps hyperlinking is not top priority at the moment. 

It looks like a well-marked Epistrophe eligans to me Anthony. Does it key out in that direction?

I guess that's right - it falls closest to the 'exceptionally yellow' variant in Stubbs and Falk.  I think the bluntness of the markings on tergite 2 had me wandering towards key 22b.  Thanks Martin.

A