Not all flies are dull : )

Apparently, this is called a Green Soldier Fly (Odontomyia cincta), and I don't remember ever seeing one before. I had no idea what I was photographing at the time - to me it looked more like a beetle except that it had wings. It's quite a beautiful insect, I think. Telemacro photo taken on 21 July 2012, NW of the city. I was feeling a little disappointed that I had found no owls (after being so spoilt the last few months!), so I pulled off the road on my way home to see what wildflowers might be growing. I only took a few steps before finding this insect on a Yarrow plant and another one that I don't yet have an ID for.

"“Adults take nectar, also sometimes found on dung” and “Eggs are laid on the edge of body of water. Larvae are aquatic, feed on algae. They stick tip of abdomen up through water surface to obtain air.“ From BugGuide.