This Cranefly, Ctenophora (aka Tanyptera) dorsalis, is a large (body ~30 mm) and spectacular Ichneumon-like wasp mimic. This particular specimen had me fooled for a while when I saw it buzzing around a pile of old and fungus covered oak logs laying eggs. However, on closer inspection I noticed it had halters (which are typical of Craneflies etc) instead of the second pair of wings you'd find on a wasp or bee. Halters are used in flight control and are small dense spheres that vibrate on a rigid stalk (actually derived evolutionarily from the second pair of wings). They are attached to the body just behind the wings. These organs act like the flight direction gyroscopic sensors found in planes and rockets, and supply the insects biological CPU with the data needed to calculate its orientation in flight (perform a 'halterectomy' and you'll see some truly erratic flights).
After I snapped a few shots of it laying eggs I temporarily took it into custody for its 'mug shots' in a plastic container I had handy. On release I was pleased to see it went straight back to egg laying.... so I'll probably get to see a whole lot more of these beautiful and harmless insects later.
A year later at the same wood pile, I spotted another female specimen of this beautiful insect engaged in egg laying behavior, together with a couple of males seeking females. I have therefore been able to add 10 or so shots to this gallery.