---

Hello,
Last week I met a male Eupeodes on Tripleurospermum maritimum (Asteraceae) on the Baltic beach. I suppose it is E. luniger, because the yellow spots do not reach the abdomen margin. However, I find the legs, especially the hind legs, very dark for this species. Can this feature point to another species, or is it just a matter of season (e.g., bugs get darker in autumn)? Is there an Eupeodes expert who knows the variability of E. luniger?
Thanks, Sundew

---

Well, it certainly looks like E. luniger!
But, as sometimes said before, the genus Eupeodes can be very difficult. A species like luniger is sometimes very hard to separate from E. bucculatus, even with specimen at hand.
The variability between specimens of a certain species can be very big, and some specimens can't even be identied with certainty.
So, yes, I think this is a male of Eupeodes luniger, but one can never be totally sure, and evn more when ther's only a picture!
Greetings,

---

Many thanks - it's interesting to learn that in some genera the colour of the leg parts is very distinctive for species identification, whereas in other genera there seems to be much allowed infraspecific variability. Now I must only keep in mind the genera / species of which leg photos are a must...
If need be, I'll ask once more.
Sundew

---

Looking at wingvenation and yellow (?) hairs on scutellum, rather large (?) genitals, to me this seems corollae, with very reduced spots. But pics leave enough reason for doubt..