Posted by Carnifex on 17-06-2020 13:15
#1
two (at least) species at a mirid prey (
Closterotomus norvegicus) of
Misumena vatia.
My guess would be
Conioscenella frontella and
Trachysiphonella ruficeps, but with high uncertainty.
Observed this spectacle (never seen something comparable before) in the vineyards of Vienna.
Edited by Carnifex on 07-10-2021 21:29
Posted by Carnifex on 22-06-2020 21:04
#2
von Tschirnhaus et al.
wrote a paper about these kinds of Chloropids, maybe he will find this topic :-)
Posted by von Tschirnhaus on 24-06-2022 17:19
#4
Chloropidae: Tricimba humeralis (Loew, 1858) and in numbers Trachysiphonella ruficeps (Macquart, 1835). Nice photo! The flies (documented in the literature predominantly females) are kleptoparasites and feed on the pre-orally digested mirid and its haemolymph which they use as food and probably as a repellent for themselves or their eggs. Details in: Oelschlägel, B.; Nuss, M.; von Tschirnhaus, M.; Pätzold, C.; Neinhuis, C.; Dötterl, S.; Wanke, S. (2014): The betrayed thief - the extraordinary strategy of Aristolochia rotunda to deceive its pollinators. New Phytologist 206: 342-351 and in several articles of Heiduk, A. et al. between 2014 and 2021.