Odd looking flying insects

[steveT350C]

Loads of them flying around a specific area of common in Gerrard's Cross, never seen them before, any ideas as to what they are?...

[BigMon]

steveT350C said:

Loads of them flying around a specific area of common in Gerrard's Cross, never seen them before, any ideas as to what they are?...

Horse fly?



Bloody horrible things.

[Equus]

Difficult to tell from that photo. Are they black, with long gangly back legs that trail behind them as they fly?



They could be Hawthorn Flies. It's the right time of year for them, and they tend to emerge in large numbers. Trout fishermen love 'em, 'cos trout go mad for them and they're relatively easy to imitate:

[cadmunkey]

Looks like a heather fly to me.

[Equus]

cadmunkey said:

Looks like a heather fly to me.

Same family as the Hawthorn Fly, and not dissimilar to look at, but it's normal habitat (as the name suggests) is high moorland and mountain. Not likely to be occurring in large numbers in Gerrard's Cross!

[cadmunkey]

Equus said:

Same family as the Hawthorn Fly, and not dissimilar to look at, but it's normal habitat (as the name suggests) is high moorland and mountain. Not likely to be occurring in large numbers in Gerrard's Cross!

Im not fimilar with Gerrards Cross, so dont know the topography. But here in Yorkshire we see them quite a lot, not just moorlands.

[Mr GrimNasty]

Yes St Mark's (a Hawthorn) Fly, loads around everywhere at the moment - clue's in the name.

https://www.buglife.org.uk/bugs-and-habitats/st-ma...
.

[PositronicRay]

Yes seen loads in Cornwall this week.

[Equus]

cadmunkey said:

Im not fimilar with Gerrards Cross, so dont know the topography. But here in Yorkshire we see them quite a lot, not just moorlands.

Ah, but it's cold oop North!

Are you sure they're heather flies? I was Leeds, originally, and regularly fished the Wharfe and upper Aire. Big hatches of Hawthorns, but I can't recall seeing heather flies except on the moors. The only obvious difference is that Hawthorns (Bibio marci) are all black, whereas the Heather Fly (Bibio pomonae) has red upper legs.

[steveT350C]

Thanks, definitely a hawthorn fly; Equus' picture is spot on

[zygalski]

Huge Hawthorn Fly hatch this year, at least in my neck of the woods.
Free lunch if you're a cyclist.

[Butter Face]

Thousands of them round our way too, never seen them before. Strange looking things when you first see them!!

[Mort7]

Mr GrimNasty said:

Yes St Mark's (a Hawthorn) Fly, loads around everywhere at the moment - clue's in the name.

https://www.buglife.org.uk/bugs-and-habitats/st-ma...
.

Yes. Loads around here too.

[fausTVR]

Every day is a school day,I just know them as Mayflies. Black, floppy, live for about a day. They hurt a bit when they get in your eyes when cycling.

[Uncle John]

Thanks for the posts, I’ve seen loads of these on my dog walk the last week or so & google wasnt helping at all.

Now know what they are.

[Doofus]

fausTVR said:

Every day is a school day,I just know them as Mayflies. Black, floppy, live for about a day. They hurt a bit when they get in your eyes when cycling.

They're not Mayflies. Mayflies aren't black.

[Equus]

Doofus said:

They're not Mayflies. Mayflies aren't black.

In fact they're different in almost every way.

This is a mayfly: