Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Lonchaea sylvatica ?

Posted by John Bratton on 31-08-2017 13:21
#5

Using the MacGowan & Rotheray RES Handbook, I think this is Lonchaea sylvatica. But there are a few things that don't fit. On p. 94 they say “the combination of all black tarsomeres and black squamal fringes make L. sylvatica unique amonst the British Lonchaea. This combination can, however, lead to confusion with certain species of Dasiops and as a precaution check for the absence of poststigmatical bristles and the lack of strong setae on the genae.” I looked at different angles and in different lights for the poststigmaticals, but wasn't tsure I was looking in the right place. My specimen does appear to have strong bristles on the genae. But the form of the ovipositor fits Lonchaea and not Dasiops, and the third antennal segment looks too long for Dasiops.