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My favourite flies ever! This is the first time I've actually noticed that there is a proboscis inside the beak like structure. Is the whole known as a proboscis or is the rigid beak like part known as something else and the flexible inner part as the proboscis? I also noticed that some areas appear translucent. Is it maybe because it is a newly hatched fly?:)

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Can we have a bucket of cold water for Mr.Almeida please!!
Nice pic. Vida :)

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Thank you Roger.:) I've just now realized that the reason the one part appears translucent must be because it is the place where the soft flexible part normally rests when not extended. I think? I would love to know more about these flies. Where can I find more info on them?

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Ask jorgemotalmeida....one of his favourite flies...:)

Roger

Have a Happy New Year.:)

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Thanks Roger. Happy New Year to you and your nearest and dearest too! We are looking forward to all the overseas visitors for the 2010 soccer World Cup. :)

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EDIT. Soccer :| you mean FOOTBALL ;)

Afraid I won't be there. Being a Shetlander, I support the Scotland team(only football) and Glasgow Rangers. Scotland did not qualify 'cause they are hopeless.:| She Who Must Be Obeyed is half Norwegian so we kinda support them too....they are also rubbish.:|
Game of darts anyone?

Regards Roger

If Jorge doesn't know about these flies, he will know someone who does...:)

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:D Not a big sports fan myself (so many insects to photograph out there and so little time) and "he who obeys" is more of a rugby fan.:)

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I thought Roger would have been a curling fan (not an anagram this one).

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arrghhhhhhhh.... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :@

A FABULOUS Cephalodromia sp. Please, please collect it!!!!

This is among one of my BIG FAVE favourites in Diptera!


I really *need* that bucket of cold water!

ps your fly can be Cephalodromia cf. nitens... but we need the specimen to be sure.
Nitens is a LATIN word that means shining, glittering, bright... ;)

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Mythicomyiidae flies were in the past confused with Acroceridae!!! and even with Empididae, Rhagionidae and Stratiomyidae! FOOLS. :p (just teasing..) Well, mythicomyiidae flies prefer very arid to arid habitats, that's why in neotropical humid forests we will find almost nothing these flies. Desertic and hot areas (antarctida is also a desert!) are among the best places to spot them. I also found them feeding on Asteraceae and Euphorbiaceae flowers. There is a peculiar behaviour among them: when flies are to be found together in a small area they tend to be much more calm in comparation when they are isolated. The reason is unknown.
South Africa seems to be a country with many treasures like Mythicomyiidae flies! Go to the dunes, check those Asteraceae and Euphorbiaceae flowers. Yellow pan traps dispersed is a great way to catch them.
I know that, at the moment, for example, the genus Empidideicus is under a world revision.
The majority of mythicomyiids have humpbacked thoraces and lack the dense vestiture that we can see in Bombyliidae; usually wings have NO marks or patches, it is common to find hyaline wings! The wing venation is very simple, with R2+3 unbranched, costa incomplete.

There is one genus that parasites nest of ants like the Glabellula (those can be found in sand dunes), specially, it is known that Glabellula parasites Formica nests. Just to show that there is little known on their biology: "Not much is known of the biologies of the immature stages of mythicomyiids. Host
data and potential or presumed hosts are known for only 6 species of mythicomyiids.
Members of the genera Psiloderoides and Gubba, n. gen., have been reared from
grasshopper egg pods in South Africa and Australia respectively (Hesse, 1967; Fuller,
1938b); Glabellula arctica has been observed in nests of Formica spp. (de Meijere, 1924;
Andersson 1974); a pupa of Glabellula crassicornis was found in a dead locust tree
among the frass of an unknown insect and successfully reared to the adult stage (Greene,
1924); Mythicomyia pusilla has been recorded as a parasite of Anthophora bee larvae
(Thorpe, 1969); and an immature of Mythicomyia pruinosa was found in an ant midden
located beneath a rock (Hall & Evenhuis, 1986). Only one additional record has been
found in the over 6,000 specimens examined during this study: a single specimen of
Glabellula palaestinensis was found in the stem of Sorghum, which was infested with the
larvae of the moth Sesamis in Egypt. Bowden (1980) states that “A few species of
Mythicomyiinae have been reared from vegetable detritus . . .”, but gives no further
details." Evenhuis, Neal. 2002. (see below the linkl for the catalog where you can find this transcribed text.)


Also I see in your photo one very interesting thing that must be a subject of study. In Bombyliidae, the flies collect pollen on their forelegs and then scrape it into their proboscis - they have specialized hairs for this. In Mythicomyiidae, they do not have specialized hairs on the forelegs but it looks like they might on the hind legs. In some of mine photos: http://www.flickr...322680938/ and here: http://www.dipter...d_id=23643 it looks like pollen is sticking to the hind legs. And in yours we can see also the same behaviour! Please begin to collect those mythicos (if you can..) :)


Addenda: One of the best countries to find mythicos is Turkey. I almost screamed when I saw this breathtaking and awesome Platypygus (specially ridibundus)!! --> http://corzonneve...yiidae.php This Platypygus also can be found in South Spain.
There is no almost nothing in the net on these flies and for bibliography it is very, very disperse! Indeed, much of their biology is UNKNOWN! There are many larvae unknow in mythicos, for example. Those behaviour I described above have no coherent reason...
In truth there is a pdf on http://hbs.bishop...t/be10.pdf -- # Evenhuis, N.L., 2002. Catalog of the Mythicomyiidae of the world.Bishop Museum Bulletin in Entomology 10: 1-85. established classification of the family.
there is a small chapter with keys to genera in "Greathead, D.J. & N.L. Evenhuis, 1997. Family Bombyliidae. In: Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera Volume 2 (L. Papp & B. Darvas, eds.): 487-512. Science Herald, Budapest. provide a key to the Palaearctic genera." (I have it only in paper.)

well, it is a family of primitive flies and it has so much to learn! ;)

A list of all genera (singular: genus) known so far:


* Acridophagus +
* Ahessea +
* Cephalodromia +
* Cyrtisiopsis +
* Cyrtosia +
* Doliopteryx +
* Empidideicus +
* Glabellula +
* Glella +
* Hesychastes +
* Leylaiya +
* Mnemomyia +
* Mythenteles +
* Mythicomyia +
* Nexus +
* Onchopelma +
* Paraconsors +
* Pieza +
* Platypygus +
* Pseudoglabellula +
* Psiloderoides +
* Reissa +


I only saw Empidideicus, Glabellula, Cyrtosia and Cephalodromia. I know Mythicomyia, Cyrtisiopsis, Mythenteles (I'm trying to find these!) and Platypygus!
My friend Neal Evenhuis gave the name # Carmenelectra Evenhuis, 2003 to a mythicomyiid! :D

one final addenda: I will try to get "Greathead, D.J. & N.L. Evenhuis, 2001. Annotated keys to the genera of African Bombylioidea (Diptera: Bombyliidae; Mythicomyiidae). African Invertebrates 42: 105-224. good illustrated keys to African genera."
email me if you are interested in...
Thanks!

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Thank you very much for the info Jorge!:) I'm totally in love with these little flies. I've found them mostly on Felicia amelloides and Primula malacoides in my garden (from late autumn to early spring - May to August). They especially seem to love the Primula flowers even though these flowers grow in a very shady and wet part of my garden. I wouldn't know what to do with it if I ever manage to catch one as I am not an entomologist.:) If you look at my previous posts, you will see a photo of one that also has pollen on the back legs. I also attach 2 more of my photos for you. The close up photo was taken when I experimented by using a 1.4 converter with my lens. I think I could have gotten more detail if I used a more shallow dof.:)

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2nd photo (hope it will attach)

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IN YOUR GARDEN'?!?!? :o SO Please collect!!! I should begin to sow Primula!!!
I will try a closer photo with 7x magnification in next time. :D

Just put them in a very tight vial with ethanol 70% (very cheap!).

ps in your first photo from the last two is written "walr.." ;)

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:) Many, many in my garden (though not at the moment). Jorge this is at 7X magnification. I use the MP E 65mm lens. Next time I'm going to use a 2x converter for 10X and hopefully I'll get more eye detail.:)

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"many.. many..." you want to kill me!:o
I know a place about one hour from here where I can find C. nitens but only after July!

Your fly could be another Cephalodromia. Only with genitalia... that's why I'm asking you to collect it. ;) And having "thousands" in your backyard! There are such lucky people!


For some reason I called my computer. Mythicomyiidae. ;)

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I still don't know what I'll do with them once collected. Maybe I should find out if there is an SA entomologist that studies them and wants specimens. Why is the genitalia special? Shouldn't they all have it?:)

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yes, I would like to have those specimens if possible. I do not know if you know someone from Portugal that came to see the Football 2010 :P . There is another hypothesis and safe without any problems. I will email you about it. ;)

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Unfortunately I don't know someone from Portugal. Will look out for your e-mail.:)
Phil, I think I'll let Roger respond to that one.;):)

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genitalia is the safiest way to ID the specimens. They are unique (there are exceptions, sometimes they could be like a hell to decide... it happens with some Xysticus females spiders, for example), they are the "fingertip" of the species. The most reliable way would be a DNA analysis.. but it is not very pratical for obvious reasons. Genes are apparently the only natural thing... all these stuff we talk are artificial.. humans like to organize the organisms, and of course, Nature is very much complex than we can tought. There are many greys (hybrids, for example) that difficult this organization. There is no 100% satisfatory organization... hence it is normal to have many reorganizations... like Canacidae/Tethinidae (polemic subject!)...

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Very interesting info. Thx Jorge.:)

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what is *really* interesting are Mythicomyiids!!! My lovers! :D

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I have just received right now an email from my friend Neal Evenhuis. He told me: "I have studied this when working on the pollination behavior of Bombylius. most bee flies have a hypopharynx that can be extended. The proboscis consists of many parts. the top stiff part is the labrum, the bottom part is the labellum, the "tongue" that can be3 extended in many species is the hypophraynx. There are maxillary palps and maxilla on each side, but the palps are reduced or non-existent in Mythicomyiidae.

Inside the head, the proboscis can be coiled up to allow its extension when needed. You might see a swelling under the head and this is where the hypopharynx coils inside." (Evenhuis)


Isn't it the coolest thing in the Universe? You bet! :D

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Maybe you can hand them over to Ronaldo (he seems to be a very very nice guy), who will have no problem whatsoever to bring them to Jorge personally... :D

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Ronaldo :(. That big car crashing/diving woose comes from Madeira. He wouldn't be able to find his way to Jorge's town.
I responded with an anagram or two to Phil via PM. Normal smut. :D.

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Hi Jorge. Thanx for clearing up the mystery of the proboscis. Great info.:)
Thx Andre but I'll just send them to Jorge myself.:)
Roger, :D

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Forget that guy... we don't need it. :P

Thanks a bunch, Vida. (Life in Portuguese :) I will wait with anxiety for my mythicos. :) Another thing: look out for nemestrinids and bombyliids (one of the best countries in the world for these families!). The fly with the longer proboscis in all Diptera world is in... SA! Its proboscis reaches 90 to 100 mm in length, this being the longest proboscis of all known Diptera! And it is a nemestrinid. I put that info somewhere here in DI.



Found it! Here:


see here other photos:
http://www.natura...ngirostris

it is Moegistorhynchus longirostris (Nemestrinidae). More on this fly can be read here:
http://www.bioone...08.00547.x
I transcribed here the text because the site can disappear, so here is:

"The idea of coevolution originated with Darwin's proposal that long-proboscid pollinators and long-tubed flowers might be engaged in reciprocal selection, but this has not been demonstrated. Here we test key aspects of Darwin's hypothesis of reciprocal selection in an experiment with naturally interacting populations of extremely long-proboscid flies (Moegistorhynchus longirostris: Nemestinidae) and long-tubed irises (Lapeirousia anceps: Iridaceae). We show that the benefit derived by both the fly (volume of nectar consumed) and the plant (number pollen grains received) depends on the relative length of their interacting organs. Each trait is shown to act both as agent and target in directional reciprocal selection, potentially leading to a race. This understanding of how fitness in both species varies in relation to the balance of their armament allows us to make tentative predictions about the nature of selection across multiple communities. We find that in each community a core group of long-tubed plant species might together be involved in diffuse coevolution with the fly. In poorly matched populations, the imbalance in armament is too great to allow reciprocal selection to act, and these species might instead experience one-sided selection that leads to convergence with the core species. Reciprocal selection drives the evolution of the community, then, additional species become attached to the network of interacting mutualists by convergence."

Hopefully you know that flower! If so, please go find that fantastic nemestrinid feeding and hovering on that iris! :)

Finally if you are really interested to know more on this read this all:
http://findarticl...n13606619/

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That's really the most spectacular fly I ever saw!:o

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Thank you Jorge. I will keep an eye out for those flies and I will go and look up the flower so that I can look for it.:)