Silver dancer

Description:

An Ectinorhynchus male flying a few cm above the track. Part of a lek of some 8-10 individuals. They drift all the time, not hovering in one spot and, from time to time, descend to ground level and perch on grasses or the surface for brief periods. The leg positions, front curled and back dangling is shown on other pictures in the set.These are the first I have seen this year and it suggests the insect season is about 2 weeks later than previous years, perhaps due to the long period of sharp frosts we have had this winter.Taken with a 300mm lens on a tripod and hand focussed. Not easy, this was one of the better ones. There are several other pictures of this fly; see HERE for a close-up.