Diptera.info :: Identification queries :: Diptera (adults)
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 Tiny fly with two longitudinal white stripes on thorax
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| Bruce Williams |
Posted on 08-10-2011 16:09
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Member Location: Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire England Posts: 85 Joined: 29.09.10 |
Buckinghamshire, England. 7th October. Please see scale bar for size. Help with identification appreciated. Bruce Bruce Williams attached the following image:  [160.78Kb] Edited by Bruce Williams on 10-10-2011 14:33 |
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| blowave |
Posted on 08-10-2011 16:31
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 Member Location: LINCOLN, UK Posts: 3151 Joined: 27.06.07 |
Hi Bruce! Nostima picta, or another name Philygria picta as someone else has put one in the gallery under that name. Stephane Lebrun identified mine as Nostima picta so which is the current name I'm not sure. (sorry, got wrong identifier but Tony Irwin borrowed the pics) http://www.dipter...owstart=30 Janet Edited by blowave on 08-10-2011 16:35 http://cubits.org... |
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| blowave |
Posted on 08-10-2011 16:50
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Member Location: LINCOLN, UK Posts: 3151 Joined: 27.06.07 |
Fauna Europaea has is as Nostima picta, it appears Fallen (1813) gave both names! http://www.faunae...?id=137536 The NBN Gateway has it as Philygria picta but they seem confused about it. http://data.nbn.o...0100004574 The list here has it as Philygria picta but they are slow to update. http://cubits.org... |
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| Bruce Williams |
Posted on 08-10-2011 21:14
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Member Location: Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire England Posts: 85 Joined: 29.09.10 |
Thanks for your help Janet. Quite a distinctive little fly - is anything known about its behaviour or life cycle? Bruce |
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| blowave |
Posted on 08-10-2011 23:09
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Member Location: LINCOLN, UK Posts: 3151 Joined: 27.06.07 |
Bruce, you can find more info from my thread.. http://www.dipter...ost_118018 I also found a pdf which has some keys.. http://rus-ent-j....20Inet.pdf Ephydridae are associated with water. http://cubits.org... |
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| Bruce Williams |
Posted on 09-10-2011 13:24
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Member Location: Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire England Posts: 85 Joined: 29.09.10 |
Thanks for the information and the helpful links Janet. Interestingly your pdf link states that the white stripes are comprised of dense microtomentum. Clearly it would requires a FAR GREATER magnification to resolve that sort of detail  .Bruce |
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| blowave |
Posted on 09-10-2011 14:36
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Member Location: LINCOLN, UK Posts: 3151 Joined: 27.06.07 |
I checked my photos to see if I could detect the dense microtomentum in the stripes Bruce, the later one I got on 3rd November 09 does show it to some extent!
blowave attached the following image:  [96.44Kb] http://cubits.org... |
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| Larry Shone |
Posted on 09-10-2011 15:05
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 Member Location: Darlington UK Posts: 187 Joined: 08.05.10 |
Cool, a fly with go-faster stripes! |
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| Bruce Williams |
Posted on 09-10-2011 21:34
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Member Location: Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire England Posts: 85 Joined: 29.09.10 |
Yes I think you're right Janet - interesting to note how far the markings extend. Must be a GT model Larry .Bruce Edited by Bruce Williams on 09-10-2011 21:35 |
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| Larry Shone |
Posted on 09-10-2011 21:39
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Member Location: Darlington UK Posts: 187 Joined: 08.05.10 |
Whats the white object in that last photo, behind one of the legs? |
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| Bruce Williams |
Posted on 09-10-2011 21:50
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Member Location: Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire England Posts: 85 Joined: 29.09.10 |
I assume you're referring to blowave's pic - looks like one of the halteres to me (I think you can just make out the one on the other side). Bruce Edited by Bruce Williams on 09-10-2011 21:53 |
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| blowave |
Posted on 09-10-2011 23:13
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Member Location: LINCOLN, UK Posts: 3151 Joined: 27.06.07 |
Yes Bruce, it is interesting how the stripes extend even to the outer edges of the antennae. They also continue down the back of the head, and the lines look to be continuous. It makes me wonder how this happens, or why. Perhaps it's caused in the pupal stage? I can't think of a reason to have them other than some sort of camouflage, shore flies, washed surf on the beach, goodness knows. Yes Larry the white thing is a haltere, the balancing mechanisms which flies have. The fly is only 1.5mm or less long, barely visible to the eye! I noticed mine while looking for other things on the wall, without a high magnification lens you wouldn't be able to get a shot showing the fly let alone the stripes. http://cubits.org... |
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