Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Ulidiidae
Posted by jorgen on 24-11-2009 18:38
#1
Is this fly Melieria crassipennis? I found it on 15 july at a wetland in interior belgium. Its size is 6,5 mm.
Jorgen
Edited by jorgen on 24-11-2009 18:39
Posted by Nosferatumyia on 24-11-2009 22:25
#2
Probably you are right, but the only thing that does not fit well is the abdomen with almost inconspicuous brown tomentum. Has it been in alcohol?
Edited by Nosferatumyia on 24-11-2009 22:30
Posted by jorgen on 24-11-2009 23:05
#3
No, I pinned it directly after killing it with ethyl acetate. Can the other Belgian species (omissa, picta and cana) be expected far away from the coast?
Posted by Nosferatumyia on 25-11-2009 23:31
#4
Almost or even all of Melieria s.str. are associated with Artemisia stands, but mainly more oftem around coasts or salty marshes. This fly poorly fits any of the 4 species (see Kabos & Van Aartsen 1984)/ crassipennis is more common far from coasts than the others.
Posted by jorgen on 26-11-2009 18:28
#5
Thanks. I have that publication, but since I didn't keyed it out for certain I wanted to ask it here. I keep it with a Meliera sp than.
Jorgen
Posted by John Smit on 27-11-2009 11:56
#6
Dear Jorgen and Valery,
To my opinion it is without a doubt M. crassipennis. Both specimens have the dark bands on the posterior margin of the tergites. The fact that the polinosity on the tergites is somewhat different from typical M. crassipennis is to my opinion because the specimens probably got wet, perhaps inside the killingjar?
We only have four species here in northwest Europe and indeed M. crassipennis is the only one regularly found in the interior of the countries.
However, I doubt that these species are associated with Artemisia. Both M. crassipennis and M. omissa are most frequently (only?) found in Phragmites stands. Where M. omissa is mainly found in more salty biotopes, whereas M. crassipennis is more found in fresh water. In august this year I also found M. picta in large numbers on one of our Frisian Islands, all of them exclusively on another grass Elytrigia atherica, whereas I also swept pure stands of Artemisia maritima, which yielded none... I have a paper in preparation on the presumed ecology of M. picta, giving a key to the four species of the Netherlands as well as distribution keys. It will be published in June next year.
Cheers John
Edited by John Smit on 27-11-2009 11:56