Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Tabanidae> Pangonius funebris
Posted by nick upton on 05-06-2011 21:14
#1
Can anyone confirm that this BIG horsefly is Pangonius haustellatus. I thought it was a carpenter bee at first - similar size and glossy black, so maybe a mimic - but it's the biggest horsefly, with the longest proboscis I've ever seen. Fortunately, if my ID is right, it seems this genus feeds only on nectar...
3.6.11 c14mm Isle of Lesbos, Greece feeding on thistle flower.
Edited by nick upton on 07-06-2011 09:18
Posted by nick upton on 05-06-2011 21:15
#2
Head-on view.
Posted by sd on 05-06-2011 22:00
#3
Maybe
P. funebris which is close to
haustellatus as the legs look completely black. Either way, a nice fly:)
Steve
Posted by nick upton on 05-06-2011 23:02
#4
Many thanks for your input on this Steve. You may well be right and P. funebris is recorded in Greece. The legs do look all black in most of my pics but the tarsi are browner and in one pic a tibia looks a bit browner, but you'd know better than me how dark funebris is. Here are a couple of crops from other shots in case they help confirm the ID one way or the other. Brown rear tarsus first..
Posted by nick upton on 05-06-2011 23:03
#5
Paler tibia - I think - but hard to be sure and the light was late pm sunlight, not great for being sure of shades.
Posted by Zeegers on 07-06-2011 09:06
#6
Yes, I'd say it is funebris.
Theo
Posted by nick upton on 07-06-2011 09:17
#7
Many thanks Theo for your confirmation of Steve's ID on these big tabanids.