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Classification Order: Diptera – true flies Family: Stratiomyidae
Wing Length mm
Phenology Early summer.
Identification
The Beris genus is typified by having six spines along the base of the scutellum.
Their halteres are whitish in colour, their legs are long and dirty orange and their feet are dark. Note the 6 spines on the scutellum - characteristic of the genus. It also has tinted wings. Note that flies in the related Chorisops genus have 4 spines.There are 6 known Beris species in Britain.Life Cycle It feeds on pollen and nectar and sometimes also on the substrate of rotten plants. Females lay eggs individually on rotting plants. The larvae overwinter. They pupate in spring, in a hardened larval skin. The adult flies leave this through a T-shaped slit.
Habitat Flying, or resting, on sunlit leaves in bushes, hedges or other flowering plants.
