We’re all Gods Creatures

As we were walking back from watching a large group of Common and Grey Seals earlier this week I saw a chap pointing his camera at some umbels of white flowers. Nothing is surer to grab my attention than someone pointing a camera at something. It always make me wonder just what I’m missing. As I passed him I noticed something on the flowers; small and black.

“Photographing Bees?” I enquired.

“Tachinids” came the reply.

“Ah … Hoverflies?” I said, having taken another less than close look at his subjects.

“No … TACHINIDS” came a perhaps tad impatient reply.

At this point I stopped walking and made a move to see just what a Tachinid was … because being honest about it, I’d never heard of them. It turns out these are one of the groups of true flies. They sort of looked ‘fly like’ but with bristly appendages; as though they had grown their own miniature toiled brushes. Which I guess comes in handy if you’re a fly… sorry, Tachinid.

I was reliably (and enthusiastically) informed that normally these scarce creatures were solitary however there were at least half a dozen present and that he had been keeping his eye on this small colony for some time. I was told the Latin name which despite constantly repeating to myself until I got back to the Landrover I managed to forget; and unfortunately even after a lot of looking I’ve been unable to find an image that matches mine below. So the Tachinid remains nameless… to me at least.

Therefore a number of apologies are due: Firstly to the knowledgeable gentleman in the dunes photographing Tachinids for forgetting which species of Tachinid he showed us.

Apologies also to the couple whom I took out that day for obviously having passed these little gems without comment on our way out to see the seals and knowing nothing about them when we did see them.

… and apologies to the Tachinids for not having the correct lens on my camera to photograph them properly. I was geared up for seals you see, which are somewhat larger.

Bizarrely in trying to find out which species of Tachinid we have here I must reluctantly admit to finding them quite interesting … I really must get out less!

#

Update: I have just been told by Mick Saunt they are Tachina grossa – thanks Mick

Also John Goldsmith after consulting Tony Irwin kindly stated the following: The picture is of Tachina grossa. There has been a bit of a population explosion this year with hundreds seen on hogweed flowers – apparently something that’s never been recorded for this species before.