Diptera.info

Posted by rumsais_blatrix on 06-02-2021 15:31

Hello,
I am new to the Diptera world but am eager to learn about a few families, including Chloropidae. Here is a specimen collected in September 2020 in southern France (near Montpellier), in a poorly maintained garden. The specimen is 1.4 mm long. Eyes are densely covered with short thin erect hairs (not visible on the photos). Using keys I have in hand and web information, I believe it is Trachysiphonella. I can check for details on the specimen if needed.

Posted by rumsais_blatrix on 10-02-2021 13:35

Thanks for confirming. It seems there are only two species in France, T. ruficeps and T. scutellata. Do you know how to distinguish the two? I could not find the diagnostic features in the literature.

Posted by Paul Beuk on 10-02-2021 17:07

More than one darker spot on the pleura indicate scutellata but I do not know how the distinguish from pygmaea which is also recorded from France accoridng to Fauna Europaea.

Posted by Paul Beuk on 10-02-2021 17:09

Sorry, I just noticed pygmaea was synonymised with ruficeps in the Chloropidae volume of Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica.

Edited by Paul Beuk on 10-02-2021 17:10

Posted by von Tschirnhaus on 18-03-2021 12:12

Trachysiphonella spec. (Chloropidae). This specimen has very deep gena(e) (jowl(s)). Genae of T. ruficeps and R. scutellata normally are narrower (but variable in both species). The dark spots on the pleuron are not species-specific. All species are very variable concerning their body colour. T. scutellata normally has two lateral setae on each side of the scutellum, T. ruficeps only one. On average T. ruficeps is the smaller species. Without studying the male genitalia an identification is not trustable. On Sardinia I collected also T. pori which may also occur in France and which can easily be identified after its much narrover and longer male cerci.