Can anyone ID this insect? Based in Ireland
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This is a robber fly, a predator of other flying insects
It’s not a robber fly (family Asilidae) but a dance fly (family Empididae)
Robber flies’ eyes never touch in the middle; there is always a space in between eyes, a band of head -among differences.
You can compare to Empis tessellata which it probably is click here commonly seen in Ireland. Male Empidids are also predatory
Thanks so much for the correction! I'm dealing with a ton of different dance flies at my work lately, do you know a lot about them?
No. Sorry. My “knowledge” (lol) is very general. Past families and save for a few groups, I can rarely find my way.
Edit: when I suggest a species here, it’s usually an indication of what it could be rather than an absolute, and based on superficial traits and occurrence in the area. (I feel it’s often correct, but you know I don’t have proper morphology :)