What have I become...

So I finally gave in and potted one of the flies that hangs around my backdoor outside light. It looked a bit like a small cranefly. So I put it under the microscope for a better look. On closer inspection I was pretty sure that it was one of the winter gnats or Trichoceridae.

Having a quick rootle around on the internet and I found an old Royal Entomological key from 1950.

This fly appeared to have hairy eyes and a horny and down-curved ovipositer. The abdomen also appeared to be unbanded and one colour.

The wings both had 'clouds' of grey over a certain bit of the wing, circled in red below.

Which all took me to Trichocera regelationis. A quick google and this looks like the most common species and one which is highly likely to turn up in my back garden. So maybe I have actually identified my first (non-hover) fly correctly!

Will stick on the UK Diptera Facebook page to make sure I haven't royally ****ed up!

I feel slightly dirty now, and almost as if I have been unfaithful to beetles. Looking at a fly certainly didn't float my boat in the same way that beetles have, even from the first time I looked at one down the microscope. All very strange but I may well yet persist...

EDIT: The man from del Monte (well Julian over at FB Diptera) he say YES!!