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Biological Recording Company @biologicalrecording.co.uk · 06/10/2026

🪰 Big fly + moustache = robberfly! Learn how to spot these fascinating predators and tell them apart from similar flies in our online Robberflies webinar with @kitenet.bsky.social on 8 Oct 🌎 🧪 🎟 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976908981... @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social

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Biological Recording Company @biologicalrecording.co.uk · 05/10/2026

🪰 Quiz time! Which of these flies is NOT a robberfly? Put your ID skills to the test, then join @kitenet.bsky.social on 8 Oct for an online training webinar exploring this fascinating group of insects. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976908981... @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Just had this sent in as a record of Little Snipefly (Chrysopilus asiliformis) - which is absolutely correct if you look closely and ignore the Marbled White! (📷 by Ian Joseph)

A photo of a Marbled White butterfly, with a Little Snipefly sitting on its wing. The snipefly is much much smaller than the butterfly!

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Kel @ceallachaine.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

@uk-soldierflies.bsky.social potentially 2-3 Villa hottentottas found this afternoon also at Swanscombe? I've uploaded to irecord

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Rambling Ray @rayrambling.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Rare glimpse of Twin-spot Centurion Sargus bipunctatus NT Erddig Park. Our largest Sargus species 10mm, named after two White spots near antennae. Vastly under-recorded September species on another Riverside Rarity Horsemint Mentha longifolia @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

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Terry & Judy Wood @tandjwood.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Usually appearing around this time of year in the garden - Twin-spot Centurion (Sargus bipunctatus) Soldierfly. Photo'd on 8.9.26 @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social

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Tim Worfolk @timworfolk.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

A real beast of a fly and one that until today had somehow eluded me in the UK. Thanks to @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social for the location info. Hornet Robberfly (Asilus crabroniformis) @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social #Diptera

Hornet Robber Fly female (Asilus crabroniformis) on dung. 27 August 2026 Bicton Common, Devon.

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Agreed - yellow on all abdominal segments + pale stigma mark on wing = C. nagatomii (rather than the darker C. tibialis)

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Great work by @speciesrecovery.bsky.social to monitor and conserve the Barred Green Colonel #soldierfly (Odontomyia hydroleon), one of the rarest #flies in the UK - thanks to @suillia.bsky.social and @judywebb.bsky.social for their expert advice

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John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Mating pair of the UKs largest true fly the Hornet Robberfly Asilus crabroniformis. The male often covers the female's eyes during mating presume to prevent her from flying off after potential prey. Dartmoor, Devon today.

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

There have been convincing records in 2026 of Buff-tailed Villa (V. hottentotta) in Kent and Essex. Please check carefully if you find something that looks like Dune Villa (V. modesta) but in locations away from the dune habitats.

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markwright12002.bsky.social @markwright12002.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Hornet Robberfly Purbeck Heaths NNR, Wareham, Dorset @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

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lynda Lambert @lyndalambert.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

This Hornet Robberfly our largest I believe, just fell at my feet at Badbury Rings ,just asking to be noticed .😅 plus another earlier one trying to hide . @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @britishnatureguide.bsky.social @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social

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BES Community Science Group @bes-communitysci.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Citizen science data reveals changing seasons for Britain’s Dark-edged Bee-fly Emergence has shifted around 9 days earlier since 1984, with the flight period shortening by ~13 days. @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Lisa Williams @lisawilliams30.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

And now back to the Insects! Rhagio tringarius, Marsh Snipefly, seen 23/07/26, Isle of Bute @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #Snipefly #Diptera

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Lisa Williams @lisawilliams30.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

The gorgeous little Rhagio lineola Snipefly, seen in the woods on the Isle of Bute, 30/07/26 @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #Diptera

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The recording scheme has received more records of Hornet Robberfly in 2026 than in any previous year, and they are still coming in! More records doesn't prove that there are more flies, it might also be more recorders, but I'm taking it as a very positive sign for this species

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Simon Knott @sjbknott.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Tabanus autumnalis ♀ today in Bengeo garden, massive horsefly associated with marshland & Herts rarity. Easily largest fly I have seen in garden. 6th tabanid species recorded here. @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social #Tabanidae

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David Bentley @sussextangerine.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Just look at the eyes on this (deceased) Twin-lobed Deerfly! Chrysops relictus 💚 #UKwildlife #Sussexwildlife #insects @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @sussexwildlife.bsky.social

A brown and yellow-ish insect with amazing intense green eyes with dark spots. It is on a wooden bench.

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Brilliant photos of a very rare fly, the first record of this species that we've received for many years, so it is very welcome that this population is still present.

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Great to see this paper published, based on #BeeFlyWatch data - thank you to everyone who has ever sent in a bee-fly record 🙏 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

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Rob Edmunds @vc28nature.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Kite-tailed Robberfly (Machimus atricapillus) from the conservatory this morning. @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social

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Rob Edmunds @vc28nature.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Thereva nobilitata - Common Stiletto @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

"Site of Special Soldierfly Interest" gets a big thumbs up from me!

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Dave Emley @demley.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

For a moment I thought I had seen a red-eyed horsefly - until I blew up the image. It has a passenger!

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

This does indeed appear to be the first report of Villa hottentotta (a female) in 2026 🎉👏, not too far away from one of the sites where it was first discovered in 2025. Thanks for adding the record to iRecord - it will be fascinating to see if more are found.

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John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

A late summer feel to Dartmoor yesterday with my first Hornet Robberfly Asilus crabroniformis of the year. This 'google eyed' monster is a predator of small insects such as flies and dung beetles which it catches in flight with its spiky legs. Venford Resevoir, Devon

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Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

I caught up with a few old friends on one of my local heaths on Purbeck this afternoon: the hulking Hornet Robberfly, the exquisite Mottled Bee-fly, & the absolute unit that is the Heath Tiger Beetle.

A chunky golden-brown bodied and pink-legged Hornet Robberfly rests, facing left, on a grey-brown dung pile, set against a blurred brown and yellow background.

A buff and brown banded Mottled Bee-fly rest at an oblique angle, facing right, on a dead flower stem, showing off the dense brown mottling on its otherwise translucent delta wings, with the blurred sandy background visible through them.

A chunky brown-black Heath Tiger Beetle rests, facing away from the camera, in partial shade on a bed of course pale sand. Several thin wavy lines, cream in colour, are present on the beetle's wing cases and a few dead grass stems are located on the right of the image.

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Looking forward to seeing lots of lovely soldierfly records 🤗

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Jonathan Bliss @jonathanbliss.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

@flygirlnhm.bsky.social Two new soldier flies for me today, on the same hydrangea in my stepmum’s garden. Both recorded. Thanks to you, although I didn’t recognise them. I knew they were soldier flies immediately on seeing those abdomen.

A pale cream coloured fly on a white blossom. The fly has black markings on the proporionally large abdomen. Apparently it is a female Oplodontha viridula, Common Green General.

A large black and yellow, almost bee like fly with what appears to be a disproportionately large abdomen. It is resting on a white blossom. I’m reliably informed that it is a Stratiomys potamida, Banded General.

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Rob Edmunds @vc28nature.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

A Large Marsh Horsefly (Tabanus autumnalis) just rescued from our conservatory this evening. The second I’ve seen there in a week. Very large and a fearsome proboscis! @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @kitenet.bsky.social

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Simon Knott @sjbknott.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Oxycera nigricornis ♂ today in Bengeo garden, attractive tiny aquatic soldierfly. @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social #Stratiomyidae #attractedtolight

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Lisa Williams @lisawilliams30.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

The robberfly Leptogaster cylindrica, seen at Brankley Pastures, 28/06/26 @staffswildlife.bsky.social @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #Diptera

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Rob Edmunds @vc28nature.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Chrysopilus asiliformis (Little Snipefly) in the garden this evening @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @kitenet.bsky.social

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lynda Lambert @lyndalambert.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

V. cingulata thanks to @kitenet.bsky.social

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Martin Harvey @kitenet.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Confession - although I run @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social there are still quite a few soldierflies that I have never seen 😲 so it was great to find my first Long-horned General (Stratiomys longicornis) in the grounds at work today - only the 2nd record for Oxfordshire (previous was in 2017)

Long-horned General soldierfly on Wild Carrot flowers - photo taken by Todd Newent

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Vic Brown @viccbrown.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Stratiomys potamida (The Banded General) isn't the rarest of the UK's large Soldierflies, but it is one of the most striking. This morning's record is only the 2nd time that I've seen this beauty in my S. Cambridgeshire garden. #Diptera #Flies #Stratiomyidae

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Kat Dahl @wildkatdahl.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

One of Britain’s most awesome predators is out and about💥🥳 (rather early in the year 😬). This magnificent Hornet Robberfly has impaled a fly on his impressive piercing mouthparts. 📷 Amberley Downs #asiluscrabroniformis #bugsky #ukflies @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

A very large, brown, bristly fly with a yellow lower abdomen, sitting on grass, with a black fly impaled on its large piercing mouthparts.

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duleyp.bsky.social @duleyp.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

@uk-soldierflies.bsky.social I think this is Stratiomys longicornis, but it was in our garden meadow patch, 3.5miles from the River Severn, as the #diptera flies. Not great photos, much to my chagrin, but hopefully enough to confirm ID? #invertebrates #soldierfly

3 photos in a collage. All are of an insect perched on a flower head comprising of a multitude of tiny white flowers. The insect has antennae that look like feathers sticking out of its forehead, broader for the 50% furthest from the head. It has two large separate eyes, with a long white face. The thorax has a dusting of orangy hairs, and the abdomen is broad, and black with thin white stripes that don't meet in the middle.

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Joseph Beale @joebeale.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Greenwich light-trap has produced Eupachygaster tarsalis each of the 3 times I've trapped (4 f, 1 m); the best year for me for this overlooked species, generally overshadowing the moths. I did have a Phtheochroa schreibersiana in May for the moths @kitenet.bsky.social @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social

Golden and dark mottled micro moth Phtheochroa schreibersiana resting in a glass tube.

A small, chunky, and infrequently recorded black soldierfly Eupachygaster tarsalis on a whitish background.

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Martin Harvey @kitenet.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

From the garden light trap last week: Scarce Black #soldierfly (Eupachygaster tarsalis) male & female, first time I've seen this species here in 20-odd years of trapping. @joebeale.bsky.social & others have also reported them from light traps. @vc28nature.bsky.social @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social

A side view of the female Scarce Black soldierfly, on a leaf, with head to the left. Note the sharp rim around the scutellum.

A side view of the male Scarce Black soldierfly, on a leaf, with head to the right. Also has a sharp rim around the scutellum (less clear in this photo).

Comparison between females of Eupachygaster tarsalis (Scarce Black) and the more widespread Pachygaster atra (Dark-winged Black).

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Rob Edmunds @vc28nature.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Having read comments by @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social about how common some Pachygaster soldierfies were I looked more closely at our fruit trees and found several. Pachygaster atra (female) and Pachygaster leachii (female) are shown. Still looking for E. tarsalis

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DST Leconfield Conservation Group @dst-conservation.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Banded General (Stratiomys potamida) found at DST Leconfield, near Beverley on 26 June 2026. Appropriate to find a Soldier Fly General at an MOD site. Photos copyright Tim Cowley. #SoldierFlies #Diptera #YorkshireDiptera #DSTLeconfield

Banded General Soldier Fly nectaring on flowers.

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Temple Balsall @templebalsall.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

If you search carefully among leaves on trees & shrubs, or sweep a net through, there are plenty of Pachygaster atra (Dark-winged Black soldierflies) around at the moment. Worth checking carefully for similar related species, see the ID guide to Pachygastrinae at dipterists.org.uk/soldierflies...

dipterists.org.uk

Identification guides for soldierflies and allies | Dipterists forum

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Judy Webb @judywebb.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

They certainly are fantastic, & there are some very spectacular & rare flies to be seen on BBOWT's reserves. Here is a harmless wasp- mimic male Clubbed General soldierfly from Parsonage Moor fen today. So rare it is classified 'Endangered' @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

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Lisa Williams @lisawilliams30.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

A female Oplodontha viridula soldierfly, seen at #RSPBMiddletonLakes, 20/06/26 @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #Diptera

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aliceparfitt.bsky.social @aliceparfitt.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

The Dorset Heaths are amazing for so many species, but it was fantastic to come across several of these stunning Mottled Bee-flies (Thyridanthrax fenestratus). They may be my new favourite fly 😍 📸 P. Hughes @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Make sure you click and expand this great photo to see the #soldierfly in its full glory 🤩 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

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