Diptera.info

Posted by Sundew on 23-02-2008 23:31

Hi,
Here is another one of my Tachinidae collection, hopefully identifiable. It was photographed on the Baltic Island of Usedom in August.
Thanks, Sundew

Posted by Stephane Lebrun on 23-02-2008 23:34

Shiphona sp. (Tachinidae). Look at the very long proboscis.

Posted by Sundew on 24-02-2008 15:11

Thanks for the genus - I remember that even for specialists there is no chance to get closer to a Siphona species. (Well, Anthomyiids are worse...)
Regards, Sundew

Edited by Sundew on 24-02-2008 15:13

Posted by Kahis on 24-02-2008 16:09

Sundew wrote:
Thanks for the genus - I remember that even for specialists there is no chance to get closer to a Siphona species. (Well, Anthomyiids are worse...)

No way. Anthomyiids are easy-peasy in comparison with Siphona. In Anthomyiidae the problem is mostly lack of skills among us, but Siphona are irritatingly difficult to identify even with plenty of material at hand and good literature.

Posted by Zeegers on 24-02-2008 20:43

Despite full agreement with Kahis, this one looks rather interesting,
some similarity with S. setosa.
It was not collected, was it ?

Theo

Posted by Sundew on 24-02-2008 22:40

No, I don't collect, I consider all creatures members of a big family, me inclusive. And I feel I must not destroy something I am not able to recreate. However, as I see the necessity of comparative collections, I would keep and feed a fly until its death and then send it to you - if I only knew which one was worth the efforts! No, only specialists should targeted catch selected taxa to avoid "overfishing" by clueless laymen.
I am happy with Siphona spec.!
Thanks again, Sundew