Killer Fly

Following a suggestion from Phil  (Cabinet of Curiosities) I put a copy of yesterday's photo on the iSpotNature site to see whether anyone could identify the insect. 

Within a few hours a user had suggested it could well be Coenosia tigrina, one of a group of killer flies. Putting the name in Google and looking at the photos it shows I am very sure this is the fly I saw and it certainly looked as though it was attacking the other fly. Some information about the killer fly can be found on BugGuide.

The iSpotNature site looks to be an excellent resource for finding the identity of many unknowns in the natural world.   What is the iSpot site?....  This is from their help page:

"iSpot is a website aimed at helping anyone identify anything in nature. People upload their observations of wildlife, help each other identify it, and share and discuss what they've seen.

A good place to start is to look at some of the latest observations - you can see what people are observing right now. Anyone can see what's on the site without registering - just go back to the home page, and click on the photos for the latest observations.

We'd love you to make use of the site yourself, by showing your own observations, or commenting on other people's and helping them to identify what they've found. To do this you'll need to register on the site - this is totally free, and does not commit you to anything. All you need to provide is a user name, an email address, and a password."

What Is Going On Here?

Some time ago I noticed what looked like a couple of flies 'fighting' on the ground. I took a few photos with the Nikon and have only just got round to looking at them.





These are small crops from the original photos. Maybe the top insect is a wasp of some sort though it didn't have the bright yellow / black colouring of most wasps. I haven't managed to identify it as yet.

No Friday at the Flicks yesterday. Nothing much going on here recently as Autumn seems to have arrived early with a couple of nights with temperatures down to single figures. The only new bit of video is over on Midmarsh Pi.

Some Public Toilets Are a Bit Too Public

We never know what we will come across on an early morning walk round the village:

Tuesday Twister - Guess What

My thanks to all who have a go at guessing what the twisted photos are of. This week congratulations and virtual gold stars go to Adrian and TexWisGirl who correctly identified the twisted Sunflower.

   

This week's twisted photo should be a lot easier to identify.
Guess What:


Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed next Tuesday, along with the answer.
No prizes. Just for fun and a virtual gold star.

Sparrow Family Mealtime

There have been several broods of House Sparrows here. This seems to be the latest with just one youngster.

Junior sat on top of the the Green Man's head. Maybe the spiky hair reminded it of the nest. Mum spent some time hunting around for any insects. House Sparrows are very agile. They can hover for short periods and easily cling to rough vertical surfaces:





Most of the time mum watched while dad fetched bits from a nearby peanut feeder:

Friday at the Flicks - Baby Snail

As promised earlier in the week here is a short clip of the baby snail.
The body is so transparent I think that is its last meal which can be seen:



Hand held so somewhat wobbly though I did stabilise it a bit in iMovie.

Tuesday Twister - Guess What

Congratulations and virtual gold stars go to Adrian, TexWisGirl, Wilma and Ragged Robin who all worked out that last week's Guess What was a twisted squirrel:

 

On to the latest twisted photo.
Guess What:


Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed next Tuesday, along with the answer.
No prizes. Just for fun and a virtual gold star.