Well knock me down with a feather

Noticed when I was doing the butterfly shots there was a dronefly nearby. Eventually decided to take a look as it seemed slightly smaller, darker and shinier than usual. Was amazed to see it was a speckled eye dronefly when I got it in the viewfinder. Never seen one of these before. Not all the best angles but i just wanted to make sure I got some shots of it .
Guessing it's Eristalinus sepulchralis

Brian V.

lovely series love the last shot

Damn you Didnt think we got those here, excellent find Brian. How common are they?

Thanks for the comments
Alistair- I can only guess not that common- never seen one before - still trying to get an ID confirmation. If it is Eristalinus- I gather they like marshy areas.
Brian V.

Great catch, Brian.

Not the best angles?? You gotta be kidding, they look great

Thanks Kurt and Dave for the comments
Pretty certain now it's Eristalinus aeneus - apparently there are only 2 of these spotted eye drones found in the UK. This one likes breeding in rotting seaweed (which Worthing has).

Brian V.

Great series Brian. The eyes are amazing.

Great shots the last one is my favourite as well. Out of curiosity did you just use your macro lens or did you give it a helping hand with extension tubes or anything similar?
Thanks

Great macro images!

Thanks for the comments

Adrian - was using my MPE-65 which goes from 1:1 to 5:1 without add-ons. Think the latter shots here were around 1.5:1 to 2:1

Brian V.

last listed in Surrey in august 1868 when Verrall found a specimen in Denmark Hill so I guess I am unlikely to see one - mainly a coastal species, the larvae existing in pools of rotting seaweed.

racketman wrote in post #7549222
last listed in Surrey in august 1868 when Verrall found a specimen in Denmark Hill so I guess I am unlikely to see one - mainly a coastal species, the larvae existing in pools of rotting seaweed.

Well I'm suprised I haven't seen it before- Worthing often has lots of rotting seaweed

Brian v.

great shots Brian, interesting about marsh areas, im pretty sure i spotted one last summer in a boggy part of a lake. only got a very bad shot,was pretty anoyed at the time if i remember correctly. wondering if there are any other species with similar eye markings?
phil

GOLDENORFE wrote in post #7549623
great shots Brian, interesting about marsh areas, im pretty sure i spotted one last summer in a boggy part of a lake. only got a very bad shot,was pretty anoyed at the time if i remember correctly. wondering if there are any other species with similar eye markings?
phil

Thanks Phil
Seems there are two uk spotted eye species - the one above must be coastal but Eristalinus sepulchralis breeds in marsh areas.
Brian V.