Flies on me (and a flower)

Mystery 1 - Sandwich Bay in June
Mystery 2 - Sandwich Bay in June
Mystery 3 - Beddington SF in May
Mystery 4 - Sandwich Bay in June, glabrous, glaucous leaves
I keep a folder on my computer full of photographs of species that I have yet to identify. Some of these will remain so forever, especially the mosses and lichens. There are some images, such as those above, which I reckon should have been easy enough to clinch but I have so far failed to do so. I'm being lazy with the flower as I'm sure that a trawl through the garden plant books will surely reveal its name. If anybody knows any of these mystery pictures then please leave a comment. Your only reward will be to dazzle the readership of this blog with your superior knowledge.

Comments

Flora said…
Flower looks like a washed out pale pink (variety?) rose campion (Lychnis coronaria).
6 July 2011 at 20:37
Skev said…
Isn't the top fly Mesembrina meridiana?
6 July 2011 at 20:43
Graham James said…
Agree with Skev, the top one is a Noon Fly - Mesembrina meridiana.
The second one is a parasitic Tachinid fly - Gymnosoma nudifrons and the third one looks like a root-maggot fly - one of the Leucophora Sp.
Dunno 'bout the flower tho.
6 July 2011 at 21:19
Steve Gale said…
Thanks all - those id's came in quick. Skev and Graham's assurance of Mesembrina meridana is certainly well placed. Graham's second photo claim of G. nudifrons could well be correct, although some web sites urge caution in claiming this outright as another Gymnosoa is almost identical. Mel's thoughts on the flower are interesting as the plant wasn't disimilar to Rose Campion although I haven't seen one that doesn't exhibit a blazing magenta flower. I think I'll post some more mystery pics in the future as there are a lot of knowledgable people out there...
6 July 2011 at 22:20
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