Posted by ChrisR on 05-04-2014 18:53
#1
Yves Braet sent me this photo recently - can anyone place it to a family or genus? :)
Posted by Gerard Pennards on 05-04-2014 19:13
#3
Syrphidae yes, but not Microdontinae. This is one of the african species of Graptomyza...
Posted by ChrisR on 05-04-2014 19:33
#4
Fascinating! :) Yves said that all segments of the abdomen seem to be fused together.
Posted by Andrew Whittington on 09-04-2014 17:21
#5
I can confirm this as Graptomyza. It is possibly G. xanthopoda, in which case this is an extension of the West African range, or it is G. spinifera, which seems more geographically likely.
To distinguish the two I need to examine the spines set among the setulae of the hind tibia. Segments one and two of the abdomen are completely fused, but the remaining segments are free, although they do certainly adhere strongly together.