A Very Rare Fly
13th October 2011, ThursdayWhile counting butterflies at Castle Water at the end of June this year, I came across several of these strange looking parasitic flies. I sent a couple to Chris Raper, the national recorder, and he has identified them as Erynnia ocypterata, a very rare parasitioid of micro lepidoptera found in woodland or wetland. This is a Red Data Book 2 species in Britain, with very few sites. Another good one for Rye Harbour!
Erynnia ocypterata. Malcolm Storey www.bioimages.org.uk