ID plz Fly or Wasps?

[GrayB]

Hi Everyone,
I came across a pair of insects mating but have no idea of ID, I cant even decide if they are Flies or a type of Ichneumon Wasp.
Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.
Gray.

[Jason Green]

Nice shot, I believe I've seen one of this same species, too!

They're Hymenopterans, a type of wasp. Most likely Braconidae members, I believe you can tell by the reduced wing venation. That will need to be confirmed though, but for me it's a visual gist-thing.

How small were they?

[GrayB]

Thanks Jason,
That helps me a great deal.
As for size, i really couldn't be sure but at a guess i'd say 10-14mm, i'll try and find some info on the information you've given me, thanks.
Gray.

[Jason Green]

- so 1 - 1.4cms?! I'm sure that'll make it an ichneumon then... but it looks like a braconid, which should be smaller

Let's await further responses...

[GrayB]

Jason,
I'm terrible when sizing insects, it would probably be easier to say that when i took the shot my lens was at it's maximum magnification, so maybe it wasn't as large as i said.
I should really start looking a little closer at the things a photograph
Gray.

[Jason Green]

In the past I've used the max. zoom on a ruler to guage the insect's size... see:

11/12/08

Ruler - Subject
...and pasted over the top

To get this insect sized to differenciate between two different but similar species, I had to take a photo of a ruler using the original camera zoom length and then paste the scale over the top of the insect photo. It worked... perhaps this may give you food for thought there...

[GrayB]

Jason,
I was told about this method around four months ago and never got round to actually doing it, so thanks for the reminder it's a much better method than guess work, cheers.
Gray.