DIPTERA > BRACHYCERA | Higher Diptera

LOWER BRACHYCERA > STRATIOMYOMORPHA > Stratiomyoidea > Stratiomyidae (48 species)

(subfamilies: Beridinae, Clitellariinae, Pachygasterinae, Sarginae and Stratiomyinae)

A varied group of generally colourful flies, usually dark with conspicuous white, yellow or greenish patterns, sometimes with blue to green metallic lustre, that have all been given individual military-ranked names in keeping with the common name of the family. Species are broadly regarded as aquatic or terrestrial, with the former having an army rank, and the latter a similar Roman (or other historical) name such as Centurion or Legionnaire. The rankings are based on the relative size of the species. Naval ranks were avoided simply because Stratiomys means soldierfly.

Soldierflies are most active in warm sunny weather when they may be found resting on vegetation or visiting flowers. Habitat preference varies by species, but good areas to find them include woodland, locations near water and various coastal sites, such as dunes. Males sometime ‘dance’ in the air, and some species could be confused with hoverflies.

There’s little point quoting the general characters for this family when such good information is available both online and, more usefully, in the excellent identification guide ‘British Soldierflies and their Allies’. The book provides extensive details including the following simple guide to determining the subfamily, which is always a good starting point for identification.

Beridinae: scutellum with four to six spines, larvae terrestrial.

Clitellarine: scutellum with two or more spines, mainly small species, larvae aquatic or semi-aquatic.

Pachygasterinae: scutellum without spines, small and dumpy with an entirely black body, larvae terrestrial.

Sarginae: scutellum without spines, body not entirely black, largely metallic, larvae terrestrial.

Stratiomyinae: scutellum with two spines, mainly moderate-sized to large, larvae aquatic.

In respect of the photos below: Beris geniculata (long-horned) seems to key out okay, but can be difficult in photos to separate from Beris fuscipes (short-horned), and a useful observation to avoid possible confusion between Chloromyia formosa and Microchrysa polita for example, are that hairy eyes point to Chloromyia, bare in Microchrysa.

As noted on the previous page, my current success in finding soldierflies is embarrassingly poor so, at present, I see little point in adding any further information regarding the species I've managed to photograph. Hopefully the situation will change in time, but at the moment I'm struggling to understand why I've seen so few members of this family.

Photos updated, Dec.24 (v.2)