Posted by Morten A Mjelde on 15-10-2016 23:42
#1
South-east Norway
16. May 2016
From forest area
Could it be Epistrophe cryptica?
Edited by Morten A Mjelde on 17-10-2016 19:09
Posted by Sundew on 17-10-2016 01:02
#7
Epistrophe it is, as I do not see upstanding hairs on the upper surface of the squama in pic 1, and the orange rather than yellow colouration fits as well. After reading thoroughly the descriptions in Doczkal & Schmid (1994) (
http://biostor.or...738/page/1) I came to the conclusion that
E. cryptica is the best identification indeed |t. As to the other species with yellow antennae: The similar
E. similis has a black arista,
E. ochrostoma has a different pattern of dusting of the frons, in
E. flava females the yellow spots on tergite 2 reach the anterior margin, and
E. melanostoma usually has a black mouth margin. However, the latter species is said to be quite variable, whereas the variability of
E. cryptica is still insufficiently known. So a little uncertainty remains, but this is nearly always the case with ID from photos...
Regards, Sundew
Posted by Morten A Mjelde on 17-10-2016 19:08
#8
Thank you very much for your thorough answer!
E. melanostoma should have a darker arista - so I also think it is most likely E. cryptica.
Here in Norway E. cryptica are quite rare - or overlooked...
Rosevinge