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Despite this one tolerating the flash for a number of face-on shots, it elected to fly away as soon as I had manoevred the camera into position for a more informative angle. I would like to have somewhere to file it other than "Unknown" for all eternity, so if anyone can get it to family from this picture I'll be grateful.

Thanks.

Place: Chongwe District, Lusaka Province, Zambia.

Habitat: lawn

Date: 07/10/2011

Size: A fraction smaller than the standard <i>Sarcophaga "carnaria"</i.-type fly, so probably 9-10mm.

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No. Tachinidae. Goniini tribe. Probably a Gonia sp.

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Awesome! Thanks! Updating title.

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This could well be Pseudogonia fasciata:)

Steve

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I am suitably awestruck that you can suggest a species for a fly from its face alone... Unexpectedly updating title and folder to reflect potential species!

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Obviously, this is far from 100%. However, the very broad face is distinctive for the Goniini (as Jorge says) for which there are only a few African species. Gonia bimaculata is common and widespread but it has orange on the abdomen and frons. Pseudogonia, in contrast to Gonia, has black hairs on the gena and all black ground colour to the abdomen, as here I think. Then there are just 2 described species to choose from fasciata and rufifrons. I don't have a key for them in front of me, but rufifrons presumably has a more reddish frons. rufifrons makes it to the Med, inc. Italy so European experts can comment:)

Steve
(African non-expert;))

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Expert or no, it's nice to know how you get there...

P. rufifrons elsewhere does seem to have a brownish-red... frons, I suppose, so I'm going to remove the question marks from the title (for now), and stare at the faces of other, as yet un-uploaded, Tachinids to see if they're as broad...

Thanks!

Will.