Tiger fly

Description:

Body length about 5 mm; eyes red; thorax brown with a longitudinal row of dark spots on each side of the middorsal line, each spot centred around the insertion of a robust hair; abdomen brown with large dark spots; legs mainly brown-grey, with red on the distal end of each femur.

Habitat:

Urban garden.

Notes:

Observed on a blackberry leaf, clutching the dead body of a smaller fly (the red eye of this fly can be seen in photo #2). It held onto the dead fly for several minutes while I took pictures, then it dropped the dead fly, groomed briefly, and flew away (just after I took photo #5). Adult tiger flies are predators of other flying insects, including garden pests such as onion maggot flies.