---

Hi


I have spot this morning in Serra da Estrela the amazing and fantastic Acrocera sp. (maybe an A. sanguinea? ). It was so unusual to spot over 10 acrocerids separated from each other in a radius of about 500 m. I have never found per day MORE than 3 acrocerids, but today I saw 12!!! Some acrocerids attached to my t-shirt and others to my arm. Curious that these flies tried to approach my eyes... it is an unusual behaviour that we can find in Phortica (as it feeds on tear's eyes.)

Enjoy.. the fly :) .

---

and here more one photo.





to see it better... go to my flickr ;)

---

I had same experience in Middle Asia. They were swarming around my head when I was sitting on the edge of a gorge, an I took the by bare hands and put in a killing jar...

---

:D yes. And put my feet back... and catch one by one... with this approach. :)
They were separated within some meters...

I never expected to see them in a very open land!! :| And it was windy. A soft wind, though.

I will show photos of the habitat soon. ;)

---

what is odd (?) is the absence of any proboscis..

---

Hi, congratulations on the photos, what is the size of the fly?

---

Thanks. :)
Very small. It has 3 mm. I have others with 4 mm - 5 mm. But this specimen on the photos has 3 mm

---

WOW, you are a very lucky guy:).

---

You are even more, Andrade. You spotted an alive Astomella hispaniae! And you'll have a new .... soon.. ;)

---

this is the place where I spottted Acrocera. Also we can find there Baumhaeuria (rare), Chaetogena, Bombylius discolor, and some cows. :s lol

the photo is not mine. It was in google images. It is a small one. Just to show the habitat place. ;)

---

It is known behaviour of Acroceridae... And indeed it is still unknown what they feed on, if ever! Also to find the hosts is still intruiging. Good that you collected some.
Maybe Theo Zeegers can be of any help for ID?

---

André I will rear some lycosid spiders. Let's go see if I can get some acrocerids. But it is a hard task! Is there any possibility that they can parasite beetles? (that place has a huge number of coleopterans!)
In that zone there is Lycosa fasciiventris, Alopecosa simoni (extremely beautiful spider!), Aelurillus v-insignitus, Thanatus lineatipes... and so on. ;)

---

Yes, looks like A. sanguinea, which is synonym of trigramma (one is male, other female).

sanguinea is the valid name.


Theo

---

Thanks, Theo.
A pity that Isidro's photos are not available. He photographed an Acrocera sanguinea last year. It seems that there is a considerable variability among Acrocera sanguinea.

---

Its thorax´s stripes were a fuzz for me before knowing they had "become" the same species. Pictures and keys at Faune de France pointed "undoubtfully" to A. trigramma :|
Congratulations, Jorge, your pics are very good (not just thes 2) :)

---

Thanks, paqui. I will upload some new photos tomorrow to show the dorsal view. :)

---

It looks like amazing habitat - great for hill-topping flies :) Before you leave just remember to check your pooter and your tubes to make sure that you don't bring back any cows! ;)

---

here are the photos otaken by Isidro Martinez in Zaragoza - Spain. It seems that Acrocera sanguinea can have a high variability in the scutum and in the abdomen. So here the photos to compare with mine.

---

another from Isidro (who kindly granted to me the photos)

---

another from Isidro

---

another from Isidro.

---

now, here we can see the same specimen as the first photos. And then I will show another Acrocera I spotted in the same place with some differences.

---

another from dorsal view... compare with the Isidro's photos (in page 1). The same species and a high variability in the specimens.

---

now, a different specimen I caught in the same place. It has some differences in comparation with the first specimen I showed and with Isidro's photos.

---

and the last...

---

So, this shows that Acrocera sanguinea has a great variability. Not so much as the Cyrtus gibbus (the differences resides in the patterns of the abdomen.)

I would like to hear opinions about these 3 specimens. They look rather interesting. (ok... opinion a little biased :) )

The first photo (specimen) shows a very reddish abdomen than yellowish/beije. The specimen of Isidro has a remarkable pattern on the scutum. The specimens of Serra da Estrela has the scutum all black. Also among the specimens of Serra da Estrela there are differences in size that can be comparable! 3 mm to 6 mm. And differences on abdomen can be seen as well. The last specimen has yellowish hues in the abdomen and there are no triangular spots visible. The first specimen I showed has a very weak triangular spot.

---

i was seeing the Bei Bienko's keys and I found another Acrocera... Acrocera globula that fits better in the specimens I caught... Now Acrocera globula is a synonym of Acrocera orbiculus http://www.faunae...p?id=59493
The Acrocera of Isidro is *really* an Acrocera sanguinea.
Unfortunately the description of A. orbiculus (globula) in Bei-Bienko by Emilia Narchuk is rather poor.

Could be the first specimen really an Acrocera orbiculus?

---

see here:

---

The wing venation is different. This is definitely not sanguinea but Acrocera orbiculus, first a male (scutellum yellow), then the female (dark). Also a very variable species.
We could already have seen it in the first pic, but I missed it.


Theo

---

:D great, Theo! I have ALSO found more two today!!!! :D

And a new genus for Portugal as well... :D Soon I will give more info :)