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Evening all,

I collected this fly in May or so, in London. Now, I've tried keying it out using van Veen's key (I'll get S&F once I have a few more RES keys while they're in stock), and got to coup. 9 - http://web.archive.org/web/20070423163827/http://home.hccnet.nl/mp.van.veen/KEYS/Eristalis/eristkey.html#item9

Now, under the microscope the tarsi are dark brown with few pale hairs except for the basal half of the first tarsus which is pale. I think this steers it away from pertinax, and away from arbustorum since the top-half of tibia2 is pale.

Now, the head in profile appears quite deep (to me!), but jugorum isn't on the British list. If it isn't this one, then following it on you come to lineata - except there are no black hairs at all on T3-4 - distal or otherwise.

So... any thoughts on the basis of these images? I don't know how accurate the key is compared to Mark's original work and I will try with the UK key when I get it - but can get additional photographs if they may help.

Thanks for reading.

Take care,

Jason