Over the past week I’ve had several sightings of this little fly, Eriothrix rufomaculata, and, though I usually shy away from trying to identify flies, this one is very distinctive. Amongst the checklist of features to look for that are listed on the Naturespot website entry for Eriothrix rufomaculata are the ‘red abdominal side patches’ ♥, ‘silvery face’ ♥, ‘projecting mouth edge’ ♥, and ‘slightly shaded wings’ ♥. It’s also very bristly.

Though the adults are supposedly active from June to October, I presume I’m seeing more of these flies now due to recent hatchings. Look for them feeding on flowers, particularly umbellifers and flowers from the Daisy family, which includes everything from Ragwort to Fleabane, Yarrow to Hemp-agrimony, thistles to Knapweeds, and many more.

Like many creatures, these flies have a dark side to their life cycle: their larvae are parasitic, feeding on the larvae of various moth species, including the little grass moths (the Crambidae) and the very beautiful tiger moth species (the Erebidae).