Sarcophaga carnaria or the common flesh fly is a European species of flesh fly. Only males can be identified with certainty, and then only by examining genitalia. Lavae mostly feed on Earthworms. Adults are attracted to rotting meat and faeces. The picture has been made with magnification factor 8 and f/8 using a Canon 7D, a Canon MP-E 65 mm f/2.8 and a Canon 2x teleconvertor. It is a single picture and has been made in our garden, while the fly was alive and kicking. Sarcophaga is a genus of true flies, the type of the flesh-fly family (Sarcophagidae). This genus occurs essentially worldwide. These flies are generally well-sized and of a greyish color; like many of their relatives, the typical patterns are lengthwise darker stripes on the thorax and dark and light square dots on the abdomen. Many have conspicuous red compound eyes. These are set further apart in females than in males; the females are also larger on average. As typical for this family, it is almost impossible to tell the species apart from their outward appearance, and many can only be reliably identified by microscopic examination of the males' genitalia (source Wikipedia).
Portrait of small flesh fly, made with magnification 8 and f/5.0 using a Canon 7D, a Canon macrolens MP-E 65mm/f2.8 and a Canon 2x teleconverter. The fly was alive and busy in the garden. It is a single picture. True flies are insects of the order Diptera (from the Greek di = two, and ptera = wings). They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax. Diptera is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species of mosquitoes, gnats, midges and others, although under half of these (about 120,000 species) have been described. It is one of the major insect orders both in terms of ecological and human (medical and economic) importance (source: Wikipedia)
