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Found on 26.06.2016, near Faliraki, Rhodes. I am inclined towards T. incanus for the less extensive infuscation on the wing, the lack of a clear whitish stripe between the basis of the wings, and a generally less contrasting pattern of the body, but can not realy decide... (Pictures on the Internet seem confusing.)
Thanks for any help!
Henrik

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2.

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Anybody?

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Well, what I can say is that this is NOT Thyridanthrax elegans ;) I don't have any experience with T. incanus (entirely out of my area of study) but if you give me some time, I can try to confirm it...

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Thanks again, I am waiting patiently :-)
Kind regards,
Henrik

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Henrik, do you have a picture showing the legs a bit better? It is important. Femora look somehow reddish to me, which would point out towards T. incanus indeed. But there are quite a number of features that don't fit well enough with the description...

A list of all known Thyridanthrax for Rhodes would be welcome and helpful, if you have it.

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Dear Piluca,
Unfortunately, I don't have a list of Rhodian flies...
I tried my best to show something of the legs of this fly, I post the results below.
Thanks again for your help

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2

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And a further crop of the last:

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To me, legs seem red...

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Here is the list of Thyridanthrax spp. known from Grece (and Turkey) according to FE:


Thyridanthrax elegans
Thyridanthrax fenestratus
Thyridanthrax incanus
Thyridanthrax lotus
Thyridanthrax mutilus
Thyridanthrax obliteratus
Thyridanthrax perspicillaris
Thyridanthrax polyphemus

I think we can immediately exlude T. fenestratus, perspicillaris and polyphemus. Last year you identified T. lotus and mutilus among the flies I took pictures of in Rhodos - they look different. Here you exluded T. elegans, so only T. incanus and obliteratus remain. I was unable to find anything about obliteratus...

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I have gone through all this once more. I have never seen obliteratus or incanus but it seems that obliteratus has mainly yellowish hairs on the upper part of the frons. If I am seeing correctly, this fly has mainly dark hairs on the upper part of the frons (Henrik, you can check this by yourself in the original pictures). If this is really so, it has to be incanus or elegans. It doesn't look at all like the elegans I am used to see. And legs seem to be pale, specially femora. It would take us to T. incanus. Moreover, obliteratus should have 'dark' femora (as in elegans), which are 'pale' in incanus.

Of course, I don't have material to compare. This is all I can help with this one. If I am correct reading the keys, this one should be T. incanus :)

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Thank you very much Piluca! I greatly appreciate your constant help with these difficult Mediterranean Bombyliidae!
Kind regards,
Henrik

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PS.: I have checked all my pictures of this species, hairs on the upper frons look brownish, not yellow (in a broad longitudinal stripe almost black). Femora reddish yellow. So this fly should be incanus :)

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I believe it is Thyridanthrax polyphemus Wiedeman,1820

polyphemus flies in Greece and Turkey

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Thank you for your contribution! However, I disagree with your assesment of this sp, T polyphemus clearly have a differently patterned wing, e.g. an additional dark spot near the base. Also, lighly colored stripes on t2-t3 are white, not brownish
Greetings,
Henrik