Posted by smol on 08-06-2025 15:34
#1
Netherlands, 1 Jun 2025
Observation:
https://waarnemin...353972945/
I have been stuck on this on for the last days to be honest. Been using the key of Michael Ackland (2018), but I get no match. The few setae on the hind legs especially make it hard to match to anything. Eyes closer together, clear strong
pv apical seta on hind tibia, with upper anepisternum seta and clearly longer arista hairs.
The only direction I have, it that I have seen that some of the
Pegoplata species seem to have reference image of 1
av (at least much more towards the ventral side) + 2
pd (for example
https://flic.kr/p...). Which is weird, the keys describe these species with 2
ad and 2
pd...
Hopefully someone else can shed some light on these.

Edited by smol on 09-06-2025 11:10
Posted by smol on 09-06-2025 11:09
#3
Nikita Vikhrev wrote:
Ackland: arista long plumose = Hydrophoria or Hylemia
Thank you very much for this direction.
Some new findings regarding the key:
I believe I held on the "strong apical
pv seta on the hind tibia" characteristic too strong. It is very difficult to see from this angle, and none of the species match the strong apical
pv.
The anepimeron with upper setula that should be isolated, is also in many species not isolated as I imagined. A lot of species have two stronger setula, with a stronger posterior one, for example in
Botanophila/Anthomyia, or sometimes encircled with smaller setula and some stronger short setula (like in
Hylemya partita). I also just now noticed it said setula not setae.
I also confused the VI tergite with the prehypopygial plate.
With the input, and going through the keys multiple times, I think this is
Hylemya variata. The parafrontalia closing in, and almost touching, is blurry, but I believe we can see a hint of this.
Of course, not catching a specimen makes this provisional at best.