Broad Centurion ♀

Description:

Chloromyia formosa is one of the Soldier Flies (Stratiomyidae), and the insect sexes are very different in appearance. Both have a shiny metallic green thorax but the abdomen which is flattened and broad, is blue-green in females, with a copper-green sheen in males. Their body is elongated, the head is hemispherical without hair, while the eyes are quite hairy. Antennae are short, the first antennal segment is longer than the second. The legs are black, only the knees are yellow. The wings are yellowish-brown. In the pic, there is a female of the species which I spotted while it was foraging in a glebionis coronaria shrub, in my veggie garden, Nea Demetrias, Volos city, Greece. The larvae develop in humus-rich soil, feeding on dead leaves and other decaying vegetal substances.