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Dear forum,

I took a picture of this fly today in my garden.
Is it Anthomyiidae and can it be further identified?

Best regards, Niek

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Based on recent threads, I think Egle.

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Dear Susan,

Thank you for your reply.
I just did a forum-search on Egle and I think you are right.

Best regards, Niek

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Let's wait for Micheal, I don't think it is Egle. Female of Egle looks much more "brutal" :D
Nikita

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I think it is probably an Egle female. It is not E. ciliata as there are only 3 post dc setae. One can just see the upturned mouth margin I think. Small Egle fenales look like this, not very bristly. They are very difficult to identify even under the microscope, and you won't find a key to females in my British species keys. This photo could be minuta, parva, rhinotmeta which are the commonest species. It is also the right time of the year for Egles, March and April when the sallow blossom is out.

How about some photos of anthos like Jorge's "Who am I"? All those lovely bristles showing up! I will try to photo a small Egle female with my limited equipment.

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Dear Michael and Nikita,

Thank you very much for your comments and explanation.

Best regards, Niek

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Having just looked at some female Egle species, I am now of the opinion that it is not Egle. None of them have a distinct median vitta on scutum, and the colour is drab brown and parafacials are wider. Here are two photos

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another of head

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That is what I'd call a typical Egle: a spring anthomyiid with a short, strongly face and small antennae.

It is difficult to judge whether Niek's fly has a 'stiff upper lip' from the photo alone. It is clearly an anthomyid, but not of the characteristic spring genera Phorbia and Egle.

My first hunch was in fact Botanophila, but I cannot offer any support whatsoever for the idea. Perhaps it's just the fact that the last anthomyids I've seen where Botanophila...

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Dear Michael,

Thank you very much. So I will record it as Anthomyiidae sp......

Best regards, Niek

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Dear Kahis,

Thank you for your comments (your reply came in while I was typing my reply to Michael).

Best regards, Niek