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Good morning, i have been struggling to find what these two creatures are ever since they came tumbling down on our holiday home terrace table in Normandy, France in late june 2014.

Biting midge and prey | 2014-06-27 20:47 | Beaumont-le-Roger, Normandy, France
Hilly, wooded suburban area on the edge of the Risle river valley and stretches of acres of crop.

I'm especially eager to find out what kind of midge this is. I let it rest for a few years and today i found this group of biting midges... could it be Clinohelea (syn. Ceratopogon)?








Hope to hear from you

best regards,
Gerben (housecrow)

original sighting recorded here https://observati...p;local=xx

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The fly may be Clinohelea. I'm not sure. Prey is Ephemeroptera.

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My feeling is that the tarsi do not look quite right for Clinohelea - I'd be more inclined towards Palpomyia. Assuming the mayfly was alive when attacked, it's interesting to see how much bigger the prey species is. I wonder if the Palpomyia uses venom to subdue the prey?

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Thanks for your replies.
This mayfly has no flat side to the otherwise round eyes and 3 'streamers' (pardon the amateurish language). But i will look into it further.

I'll look into Palpomyia too, Information on that group doesn't seem readily available for France...

This Flickr photo seems to back up your ID: https://www.flick...FnC-tLAiyt

to be continued...

regards
Gerben

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Mayfly is Ephemerella cf ignita

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A very late thanks Daan, ignita looks definitely ok for my Mfly.

thanks again
cheers,
Gerben