Posted by Walther Gritsch on 04-05-2014 13:57
#1
Hello,
This may turn out to be a really unexpected record of
Amiota filipes – a species hitherto only known from Central Europe, at least as far as I know.
I have carefully studied the genitalia and compared them with the drawings in Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica vol. 39, 2004 and find no match except for the rather sketchy drawing of the aedeagal complex of
filipes in lateral view. Unfortunately I don't have the article containing Máca's original description of the species as I suppose it has better illustrations of the epandrium. Perhaps some of you have and are willing to share.
The specimens were found as puparia by my friend Klavs Nielsen under the bark of a fallen beech in the forest Teglstrup Hegn on the island Sjælland (~ 56°03'13N 12°33'30E) in February 2014. The puparia hatched towards the end of March. The batch contained both males and females of the
basdeni-group, but clearly not
basdeni itself.
The photo of the fly was made by Klavs. The photos of the epandrium are by myself and shows it in lateral, posterior and anterior view. At the present they are the best I can manage with my 5 megapixel (sic!) microcam and stereo microscope.
We both find this pretty exciting as this seems to be a previously unrecorded species in Denmark – whether or not it is
Amiota filipes.
Greetings,
Edited by Walther Gritsch on 03-06-2014 18:18
Posted by Walther Gritsch on 06-05-2014 21:23
#3
Trying to resuscitate this with a desperately poor shot through the microscope of the female terminalia. The cerci long like in Amiota alboguttata.
By the way, Amiota filipes apparently doesn't even belong to the basdeni group.
Posted by Walther Gritsch on 03-06-2014 18:16
#4
Just to wrap this one up - with better pictures of the aedeagus and surstylus.
It is indeed
Amiota filipes. Jan Máca has been kind enough to confirm the identity of the species. If one can find it in Denmark it is likely to be present everywhere from Central Europe to southern Scandinavia.
Amiota filipes is supposed to be a canopy species, but Klavs told me that the beech hadn't fallen recently. It is at least a couple of years old.
No matter what, it is a very interesting record!