Diptera: Tephritoidea

Tephritidae: Picture-winged Flies

There are some flies in other families with similar wing patterns, such as Trypetoptera punctulata and Platystoma seminationis.

Cambridge, Gwydir Street, 24 Aug 2014.
Length (head + body) 4.5mm; wing span 10mm
This family of fruit-flies or "Picture wing" flies includes some which are serious pests such as the Med-Fly Ceratitis capitata.
In this species, the wings are carried in this front facing posture, perhaps as an attempt to look bigger or fiercer than it really is. The markings look vaguely spider like but would this really fool a potential predator? Maybe it is a mating display ...
Synonym: Phagocarpus purmundus
NBN Atlas.
Enlarged view

Fleam Dyke TL549540: 1 Jun 2023
In neadows, verges and other grassy places, especially where Knapweed is present.
Larvae live within the seed heads of Knapweed species.
NBN Atlas

Male, Cambridge, Gwydir Street. 21 Feb 2016
A large tephritid (this one 6.5mm). The prominent facial bristles of the males are used for wrestling.
Larval ecology is not known. Adults have mostly been observed in spring.
RDB2 with sightings concentrated in London and south-central England but others widely scattered. NBN Atlas.
This was the first sighting in VC29 received by the Tephritidae Recording Scheme.

Fleam Dyke TL549540: 1 Jun 2023
This species is host specific on White Bryony (Bryonia dioica) and is most likely to be encountered where that plant is present.
Larvae feed within the developing Bryony berries.
NBN Atlas

Cambridge, Barnwell East LNR, TL479583. 28 Jul 2015.
Still listed on some sites under the former combination Icterica westermanni, sometimes listed twice. Placed as type species in new genus Merzomyia by Korneyev (1995).
Larvae on Senecio species, especially hoary ragwort (S. erucifolius).
Locally distributed in southern England reaching into the Midlands. NBN Atlas NBN Atlas (as Icterica).

Cambridge, Barnwell East LNR, TL479583. 28 Jul 2015
A female, the wing markings are different in the male. Its larvae mine the leaves of Groundsel, Ragwort, Mugwort and Tansy.
Larvae on Ragworts (Senecio spp.)
Southern England and Wales, especially in coastal areas. NBN Atlas.

Cambridge, Byron's Pool, TL43815486. 26 May 2015
Larvae on Carduus spp. - Musk Thistle and Welted Thistle
Widespread in Midlands and East Anglia, less so in southern counties. NBN Atlas.

Cambridge, Gwydir Street, 20 May 2001.
Length (head + body) 5mm
A female, the wing markings are different in the male. Its larvae mine the leaves of Groundsel, Ragwort, Mugwort and Tansy.
Syn: Euribia zoë, Spilographa zoë - the most recent ICZN mandates the removal of the diacritic marks.
Larvae on a wide range of Compositae.
NBN Atlas.

Cambridge, Trumpington Meadows, TL433543. 2 Jun 2015.
Larva mainly on Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense) where they stimulate the production of these drop-shaped galls at leaf-bases.
Common in southern England except the West Country. NBN Atlas.

Cambridge, Barnwell East LNR, TL479583. 7 Jul 2015.
Adults feed on nectar and pollen; larave on decaying vegetable material including compost heaps.
NBN Atlas.

Family: Ulidiidae
Roman Road SSSI TL523522: 25 May 2023
Has undergone a marked decline in numbers and range, and was listed as a priority species in the Biodiversity Action Plan.
Adults feed on umbellifer heads, but the larval biology is not known (which makes conservation efforts difficult!)
NBN Atlas