Anyone recognise this fly?

[Squidgee]

Hello there,

Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of it but my son and I saw a strange looking fly on our way to school this morning. Does it sound familiar to anyone?

It was slightly smaller than your average house fly in size with a black/brown body (hard to say exactly what colour) with quite a large white spot on its back. It's wings were brown and slightly elongated in shape. It's legs seemed slightly longer than a house fly and were black and yellow striped.

Anyone know what this might be? I've never seen anything like it before. We live in Kent if that helps at all. Fairly near farmland.
Many thanks.
Squidgee

[squishy]

an ichneumon wasp?

Ichneumon stramentarius

google image search for Ichneumon stramentarius

also just try image searching Ichneumon sp.

even if not identical to anything you find on the internet, are the proportions anything like what you saw?

i'm just making suggestions. ID is hard for some of these things with a photo. without i'm just clutching at straws.

[Squidgee]

Hi there.
Thank you for your reply. Nope it isn't one of those. I found some images on the net and somehow I don't think it's of the wasp family but I will keep searching. Thank you anyway.
Regards
Squidgee

[JRsbugs]

Not sure about the colouring, nor the white spot on the back. Sounds vaguely like a banded mosquito though. Culiseta annulata is one here but there could be others fitting the description. Did it have a broad or narrow body?

Janet

[Squidgee]

Hello there.
I think that is getting closer to what we saw. I hadn't thought of a mosquito tbh. It didn't have stripes on the body but quite vivid yellow and black ones on it's legs. I am still searching the internet because it's "bugging" me and I've never seen anything like it before.
Many thanks for your suggestion tho. I shall look into mosquitos now.
Regards,
Squidgee

[squishy]

crane fly of some kind?