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Charleston Co., South Carolina, USA. May 17 1981. Lemgth 13 mm.
Checking images on BugGuide.net gets me as far as Tachinidae: Goniinae:Belvosia sp. Species ID requested.
Image is a composite of 15 stacked images using a free trial version of Helicon Focus.

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Tony,
I cannot help with identity, but I just had to comment on what a superb photograph this is. Absolutely first class!:)

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Thanks Nigel, I appreciate your comment. Much credit must go the superb Helicon Focus software.

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Likewise, I can't add much to the ID (not my part of the world - try Jim O'Hara - I can supply his email if you need it) but the photo is very good. I have tried HeliconFocus and had mixed results, so I think a big factor is always the quality and the similarity of the photos you feed into the software. Have you tried DeepFocus/Prepare Stack (by Stuart Ball) or CombineZM (by Alan Hadley)? :)

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I haven't yet tried these other programs but Helicon Focus would seem hard to beat. I simply upload the images and click "Run" and within seconds/minutes the composite image is ctreated. It's great for close-ups as well. See this thread:
http://www.dipter...ad_id=1863

I have Dr. O'hara's e-mail, thanks.

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Normally I would not comment on Nearctic Tachinids, but I agree: this does look like Belvosia.

Theo

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Probably Belvosia bifasciata (Fabricius).