Posted by von Tschirnhaus on 10-01-2023 18:34
#5
"weia's" doubt is justified! The thorax is too dark compared with E. brevipennis, and it is also too long, distinctly longer than wide. Moreover the head is not wider than the thorax, different from brevipennis with its big head; and the scutellum is slightly longer than the short one of brevipennis. I have seen thousands of Elachiptera cornuta and its probably undescribed sympatric sibling species with its larger epandrium and with further differences of the male genitalia. As E. cornuta has several synonyms, types not yet revised in the 20th and 21st century, it is uncertain if its sibling species already has a scientific name. Among all those E. cornuta sensu lato in my collection, none had broken wings. No chloropid worldwide is known to brake off its own wings (like males and queens of ants and termites). This case might be a rare exception and the identification of this female belonging in the cornuta-group (of Nartshuk & Andersson 2013: 92, 94] is impossible.
Edited by von Tschirnhaus on 10-01-2023 18:42