Tachinid and Rove beetle?

[jeremiah]

1) Is this Tachina fera?


2) This beetle was tiny. It was found indoors, on somebody's collar.

[Matt Smith]

The fly is not a Tachinid.

The beetle is a Malachius species.

[JRsbugs]

The fly is Muscidae female.

Janet

[oxycera]

The beetle reminds me of Anthocomus rufus, a wetland species.

[jeremiah]

Matt / Oxycera - thanks, Anthocomus rufus looks right, so does the locality - about thirty feet away from a reed-bed. It must have blown in through an open door. I gather it's a predatory beetle - it was a fast runner, anyway.

Is the fly a Stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans)? It didn't try to bite me.

[oxycera]

The fly is a muscid, as already said; looks more Phaoniini than Stomoxyini to me.

[jeremiah]

Phaonia viara?

My book only has five types of muscids listed. (A Field Guide to the Insects of Britain and Northern Europe, Michael Chinnery).

Is the Collins "Complete British Insects" better?

[oxycera]

In order to identify most muscids I'm afraid you need specialist literature and a microscope (+ plenty of commitment and ideally a thorough grounding in the identification of relatively easier families of diptera). There's no 'internet short cut', unfortunately.

[jeremiah]

Thank you for your help. I'll try to find a list of genera etc so I can at least identify the gaps in my book.



(Just noticed the spelling mistake - should have put "Phaonia viarum")