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Just a wild guess or this keyed out nicely - still might be wrong though? Fortunately I got a lot of photos - in spite of the wind. An expert opinion?

22/7/2009; Devon, England; wet pasture.

Thanks

Tim.

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2nd photo

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3rd photo

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and finally....

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Hi,

Good photos! I can see four dc bristles, bare eyes.. so likely larvarum based on the habitat (fasciata commoner on moorland etc).

Jaakko

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Not a wild guess, an excellent ID !

You see, Tachinids are not that complicated (sometimes)


Theo

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Thanks guys - really pleased I got this one right. Theo, I like complicated, it's just that so many characters seem to be barely determinable from photos - I know, I should take specimens, but I like a challenge!

Tim

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Just as a forewarning: Most of the Finnish specimens of fasciata key out as larvarum with the T&H Central European keys, one should always need to check the male genitalia for 100% id! These species, however, have a clear habitat difference.

Jaakko

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Jaako, when I said I like complicated, I wasn't really thinking of going that far...but thank you, consider me forewarned.

Now, the habitat, I would call it sort of pasture, sort of moorland - a lot of rough grass, tussocky, peaty in places, but still definitely farmland. Alt. only about 150m but in this part of England - on the Atlantic fringe - qualifies as upland almost. Does this make sense re fasciata or larvarum?

Tim

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Another vote for larvarum here - for no other reason than the larvarum I have found always have very yellow facial dusting, while fasciata is whiter/silvery. :)

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The Finnish experience is interesting, but not met here in the West. I have seen large series reared, of which we knew it had to be fasciata. I had no difficulty separating them with T&H. Maybe the ventral hairs are tricky, but the facial bristles were always obvious:
no gap between descending bristles and ascending vibrissae in lateral view --> fasciata.

Theo