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Hello diptera world!

I found these flies in a wet area by a small lake near my home in Stockholm, Sweden.

From what I've been able to gather by looking around at websites such as this one they should be Dolichopodidae, right?

Are the flies in images 5 and 6 the same species? I just assumed they were the males as they appeared together with the other ones (but in smaller numbers).

Size: 6-7 mm.

Besides (of course) ID I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on literature to help me find out more about flies like these!

1)


2)


3)


4)


5)


6)


Best regards,

John

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I must to say: incredible photos!!!

Yes. Dolichopodidae without any doubts. :)

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N5,6 Campsicnemus scambus
http://www.diptera.info/photogallery.php?photo_id=587

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No 1: Campsicnemus curvipes female
No 2-4: C. scambus female
Np 5-6: C. scambus male

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You can find a lot of info about Dolichopodidae on Grichanovs site. Warning, it loads incredibly slooow ...

Kul att se ytterligare en svensk h?r. V?lkommen! :)

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jorgemotalmeida: nice to hear! I know now that the recommended max width is 600px - I'll keep that in mind in future postings...

proctoss and Kahis: Thank you! I'd never have thought no1 and no2 to be different species. How do I tell these apart?

? Well, I guess I'll better have a good look at Grichanovs key to swedish dolichopodidae ;)

crex: tack f?r det!

//John

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Dear morfa! Please specify your camera and photo editor. Your pictures are really ones of the best doli pictures I've seen before.
The prey is probably Cecidomyidae?
Igor.

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Echoing Igor here: what magic do you use for such clear photos? I guess this were taken in a controlled enviroment. If they are field photos then I will go Wow! Again. And. Again.

PS. I'd classify the prey as a small chironomid. The fine structure of the antennae and the strongly striped mesonotum (top of thorax) seems typical for this family, but I'm the least reliable 'expert' on this topic you can find ;)

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There's a secret trick which is apparently not widely known (and I won't reveal it here :p), but for starters look at the color and width of the face below antennae. Extremely narrow and yellowish in C. scambus, broader and pure grey in C. curvipes. C. loripes is similar to C. curvipes but the top-secret trick works for those species too. C. curvipes and C. scambus are pretty much omnipresent here in the boreal zone. C. loripes is a somewhat more local.

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The prey is a chironomid, probably Cricotopus.

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I'm really glad you like my photos! I use a Fujifilm FinePix S9500 (digital camera), a Raynox DCR-250 (macrolens) and a Soligor DG-340 AZ (external flash). Sometimes - like in this case - I throw a +2 Hoya lens into the mix. All post processing is done on a Mac in Photoshop CS2.

These shots were made lying in the mud with my knees and elbows on a plastic bag at a working distance of apprx 15 cm (front lens <-> subject). I guess the plastic bag makes the environment somewhat controlled :D but I always shoot in field and never use a tripod.

Here is a photo of my relatively inexpensive setup:


Best regards,

John

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Kahis - yes thank you, that's a great start! Now I think I can tell curviceps and scambus apart in at least some of my shots!

I'm of course really curious to find out the rest of that top secret trick. Maybe some day you'll give me a hint - remember I told you about the plastic bag and everything ;)

Grichanov and Tony - thank you for the bonus-ID of the prey!

/John

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John

I notice you were careful not to include a photograph of the magic plastic bag though. We need to know the exact source of this bag - reused supermarket bag? rubbish bin bag? designer clothing shop bag? :D

Seriously - these are utterly stunning - I cannot tell you how impressed I am that these are field shots without a tripod!