Thread subject: Diptera.info :: French Guianan bombylid

Posted by ChrisR on 09-10-2011 19:41
#1

This is a French Guianan bombylid photographed by Stephane Brule - can it be identified? :)

Edited by ChrisR on 09-10-2011 19:42

Posted by paqui on 19-10-2011 23:15
#2

Oh itīs amazing! I hope anyone can identify it, just a few "lost steps" looking drawings of books

- the most similiar wing at Palaearctic seems Exoprosopa pectoralis, it has yellow face
but black frons :( (Engel, 1938)

- another similar wing pattern: Diatropomma, related to Isomyia but both have a narrow wing base and are Etiopian :(( ("Exoprosopinae", Hull, 1973)

- at bugguide: http://bugguide.n...96/bgimage

- page 159, figure "f" Poecilanthrax http://redalyc.ua...523111.pdf

- "nearest" ones in keys for eastern (US) are Exoprosopa and Dipalta

Could "Exoprosopini" be said at least? :(
regards :)

Edited by paqui on 19-10-2011 23:18

Posted by nealevenhuis on 20-10-2011 08:18
#3

This is Hyperalonia morio ssp. erythrocephala (Fabricius). Great shot!
-Neal

Posted by Menno Reemer on 20-10-2011 10:09
#4

There are several taxa of Neotropical Stratiomyidae with similar colouration. Does anyone know whether this is mimicry of some kind, and which could be the supposed models? I cannot remember having seen stinging aculeates in S-America with such colours...

Posted by ChrisR on 20-10-2011 10:19
#5

nealevenhuis wrote:
This is Hyperalonia morio ssp. erythrocephala (Fabricius). Great shot!
-Neal

Many thanks Neal - all credit for the photo goes to Stephane Brule in French Guiana :)

As Menno says, the coloration (with the bluish ground colour and yellow head) does remind me of a few of those stratiomyids that are common in the same region - Cyphomyia? Here is another of Stephane's photos (of Cyphomyia):

www.diptera.info/forum/attachments/mry-376-stratiomyidae.jpg

Edited by ChrisR on 20-10-2011 10:24

Posted by Menno Reemer on 20-10-2011 10:37
#6

Yes, those are the ones I mean. And if I remember correctly there is also another (unrelated?) stratiomyid genus looking like this.
Of course there doesn't need to be an aculeate model: if one or more of these flies just taste very bad, they may also benefit from looking like each other (Mullerian mimicry or a combination of different types of mimicry...)

Posted by paqui on 27-10-2011 21:41
#7

oh thanks for that id :)
regards everyone