Ground Nesting Flies

BigAl · #1 (**permalink**) 17-04-2006, 01:54 PM

Hundreds of smallisg flies are emerging from holes in my lawn. They are about the same size as houseflies, but longer and slimmer. They are mainly black with four greyish white furry spots on them. They make no noise. Does anyone know what they may be?

BigAl

nightshade · #2 (**permalink**) 17-04-2006, 03:56 PM

Hi Big Al,it sounds like a flesh fly,but they usually breed in carrion.This is a large grey fly with red eyes white spots on the abdomen,oh,and big feet

BigAl · #3 (**permalink**) 17-04-2006, 05:28 PM

No, I don't think they carrion flies of any kind. They have a bluish shimmer to them when they're flying, but if you can catch them still enough, there's no blue on them. Also they don't have red eyes as far as I can tell.

Iwondered whether they might be groundnesting bees, but they don't look like bees at all. Also wopndered whether they're a kind of plant root fly, which causes problems in the vegetable plots. However, my Observer's Book of Insects shows nothing that I can recognise. Index isn't helpful either if one tries to look for things like ground-0dwelling or ground-nesting...

Tried 'googling 'ground nesting flies as well, to no avail.

Imaginos · #4 (**permalink**) 18-04-2006, 09:42 AM

Hi BigAl. Have you tried googling fever fly or St Marks fly? It could be either of these (probably the former from your description)

BigAl · #5 (**permalink**) 22-04-2006, 11:02 PM

I'm coming to trhe conclusion that they're actually ground nesting bees.
However, I don't think they're Tawny Mining Bees (Andrena fulva), as they don't have " lovely foxy red coloured hairs clothing its body", which are known to make their nests in loose soil, often in lawns. As I say, mine are greyish white with a black band across the thorax. Very attractive though,

BigAl · #6 (**permalink**) 07-08-2006, 12:10 PM

I've since managed to have a word with my father about this - he used to be a gardener. He says that they're 'mortar bees' which will also nest in holes in the lawn. I'll try and post a photo, if I can remember how to do it; however, the photos I took are not very good - I had to capture one in an insect trap and photograph it through the clear wall.

(Couldn't discuss with my Dad earlier as he has been rather poorly and in hospital, and wouldn't have been interested in answering such questions)

eucera · #7 (**permalink**) 16-08-2006, 09:30 AM

Is this happening now... in August? Mining bees are a real possibility, and these sound very like Andrena cineraria which emerges in big numbers from my Salisbury garden lawn too.... but in April!