by Ian Bushell
I photographed this fly by the pond on Saturday. It’s Empis tessellata, one of the larger species of Dance or Dagger Flies. It can be seen from April to August.
Dagger fly by gbohne (BY SA 2.0) flickr.com
Although they are nectar feeders, they will also predate other insects, using their very long proboscis to stab through their prey’s body – hence the Dagger part of the name. Interestingly, the males must present the gift of a dead insect to the females in order to mate – she will feed on it during the act. No gift, no mating.
The species is common and seen all over the reserve.
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 
What a gruesome drama, all acted out on the leaf of a wild rose!
To the right of the picture, there is a very small green insect/beetle, which may or may not be the target of the dagger fly’s attention. Can anybody identify it?
Do you mean this?
Over to you, Ian.
A bit small and blurred. Probably a beetle, but more of a snack than a meal.
Google offers up Green weevils of the genera Phyllobius and Polydrusus: https://www.ukbeetles.co.uk/green-weevils