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Hi,

I guess this is M. levida, correct?
But even if - I am looking for a Muscina key anyhow. I've read sth. about Fonseca, but where is this to be found (online)? Or is there sth. else to recommend nowadays?

Thanks for your reply.
Lennart

2015-03-18, Northern Germany, S-H, Mohrkirch, garden, rotten apple

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Huckett (1975) keyed seven species of Muscina known from North America: http://essig.berk.../cis18.pdf (page 121). The name assimilis in his key is now considered a synonym of levida, and pabulorum a synonym of prolapsa.

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So the 4 northern German species are included - thanks a lot, John.

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So M. levida can be distinguished from the others because of its third antennal segment, which is reddish and not black. Is this the only thing or are there other aspects not included in the key?

And I have another question, what does this actually mean:

"Lower calyptral scale broadly expanded mesocaudad, subtruncate, and extending at base to base of scutellum".

I tried to get it using the glossary, but some terms I need to know are not included (mesocaudad, subtruncate) and some are explained with other terms I don't know (and which are not included in the glossary, such as posterobasal). So it's a bit difficult to get the point... maybe someone's got the time to explain it.

Many thanks in advance!

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He's piling words on top of each other like in German, but using a mixture of Latin, Greek, and English.

"Mesocaudad" is derived from Greek "mesos", middle, Latin "cauda", tail, and Latin "ad", toward.

Posterobasal from posterior, rear and basal, towards the base or bottom.

In entomological English the Latin prefix "sub" weakens the rest of the word. Read it as "almost" or "nearly".

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Thank you very much once again, this really helped and now I know what to look at. :)