Flecked General egg-laying

A hot but successful survey to a spring-fed stream and adjacent fields near Lincoln today. There was certainly no shortage of insects, with three species of soldier flies being of particular note. This female Flecked General Stratiomys singularior is laying eggs on an emergent stem of Common Spike-rush. The larvae will then fall into the water and continue their development in the shallows of the pond. 

This species was always considered to be predominantly a species of coastal grazing marsh in the southern half of Britain. It seems to be able to tolerate a range of salinity levels from obviously brackish to fully freshwater. Recently it has been turning up more frequently well inland, often in association with the wetlands associated with quarries and brownfield sites.