Tachinid

Tachinidae (Eurithia sp. ?)

This spiny fly is a Tachinid, I think possibly a Eurithia species looking at the stuff on the Tachinid recording scheme web-site. However, I don't claim to be able to recognise members of this family and I didn't manage to catch it. It was sitting about on the vegetation around my garden pond. The general appearance is pretty typical for the family - very spiny, especially with large upstanding spines on the abdomen.

The larvae are generally internal parasites of other insects, especially moth caterpillars. If I am right about this one's identity, then species of this genus parasitise quite a range of larger moths, especially Noctuids and Arctids.

EDIT: Chris Raper of the Tachinid Recording Scheme confirmed the generic identification, "Yes, that's certainly a Eurithia sp. but it's hard to go further because we can't see the 5th tergite very well."