Diptera.info

Posted by tim worfolk on 22-04-2010 15:24

I keyed this one out (very tentatively) as Blepharomyia pagana; can someone confirm or, more likely, correct this?

22/4/2010; Devon, England.

thanks

Tim

Edited by tim worfolk on 25-04-2010 21:42

Posted by ChrisR on 22-04-2010 17:46

Do you have a better view of the parafacials? Just from looking at it I would have said Lypha dubia but if it really does have hairy parafacials then ... :)

Posted by tim worfolk on 22-04-2010 18:14

slightly better angle on face but not very sharp I'm afraid.

Tim

Posted by ChrisR on 22-04-2010 19:24

Hmm, yeah, I am not convinced really ... Lypha is the obvious choice because of the size, colour, time of year & general observable features. The parafacials would be very hard to check from a dorsal and I am thinking we are probably just seeing the top parafacial bristles and we can't see if they really extend lower. Blepharomyia is quite rare here and mine seem to be small and dark in colour, so not like this. :)

Posted by Zeegers on 22-04-2010 21:24

Are the bristles on the facial ridge or on the parafacial ?

It seems the first....

Theo

Posted by ChrisR on 22-04-2010 22:09

I think from this angle it's hard to say ... I didn't think there was enough evidence of a long row of bristles in either case and I would have thought they would be more obvious on something like Campylocheta :)

Posted by Zeegers on 23-04-2010 09:20

Ocellars are proclinate so Campylochaeta is not an option

Theo

Posted by tim worfolk on 25-04-2010 09:36

#10

I'd ruled out Lypha on the shape of the M-vein (not kinked enough). So if it's not Lypha or Campylochaeta, any other possibilities?

Tim

Edited by tim worfolk on 25-04-2010 09:37

Posted by ChrisR on 25-04-2010 09:44

#11

I see what you mean - Ramonda might be a possibility, if it really had bristles down the parafacials. There aren't that many coppery-green, spring-flying tachinids but Ramonda spatulata & Lypha dubia are the commonest here so you could say "possibly Ramonda spatulata", unless Theo objects :)

Posted by tim worfolk on 25-04-2010 09:52

#12

Hi Chris - somebody else up too early on a Sunday morning I see :) - and thanks for the suggestion, but Ramonda has the same kind of 'kinky' M-vein as Lypha. I'm not sure this is going anywhere - I wish I'd managed better photos - but thanks for trying.

Tim

Posted by ChrisR on 25-04-2010 10:22

#13

tim worfolk wrote:
Hi Chris - somebody else up too early on a Sunday morning I see :)

Ahh, can't help it in the summer - gets light early and I am up! :D Anyway, going over to the BENHS open day at Dinton Pastures later. Am meeting up with Matt Smith & the people from Oxford University to identify some tachinids that were reared out of Small Tortoishell. Expecting a lot of Sturmia and Pelatachina ;)

Posted by Zeegers on 25-04-2010 20:39

#14

I got a Blepharomyia (pagana) today.
The bristles are on the parafacial but very close to the facial ridge.

I have little doubt this is Blepharomyia pagana as well (pagana because of the width of the vertex).

Theo

Posted by tim worfolk on 25-04-2010 21:41

#15

Well that's a surprise. I'd sort of given up on ever putting a name to this, but then to find out I was (probably) correct in the first place is a bit of a shock! Thanks to both of you for your help.

Tim

Posted by ChrisR on 25-04-2010 21:52

#16

Wow - very good - quite a rare species here - I have never caught one :D