Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Forked Antennae

Posted by Stephen on 17-09-2006 18:19
#1

I think this is a wasp-like fly but maybe I am wrong and it is a fly-like wasp.

Odd antennae, they seem forked or doubled.

Length, 1.9 mm. Attracted to mercury vapor light, West Virginia, USA.

ID help appreciated.

Posted by Nikita Vikhrev on 17-09-2006 18:41
#2

What a creature!
Nevertheless I think it is Diptera, Brachycera.
My reason is - Insecta have no forked legs or antennae, as Crustacea.
Thus, the only possible explanaition I can find is, that it is enlarged 3-d antennal segment and long, hairy dorsal arista.
Nikita

Posted by Paul Beuk on 17-09-2006 18:53
#3

Ceratopoginidae, a male. The longer part of the antennae are formed by the true antennal segments. The shorter part are hairs on the basal segments that come together to form a kind of brush.

Posted by Stephen on 17-09-2006 19:30
#4

Thank-you Nikita and Paul. This one gave me trouble!