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Hi,

I have problems with this Phaonia female. I use the Central European key and as radial node is bare I must make a choice if this scutellum is apically yellowish or not. I think it is slighly yellowish and if I follow the key; abdomen is dark, notopleuron has no hairs, antenna and tarsomeres are black and strong presutural ac absent - Phaonia apicalis.

If I decide that scutellum is comletely dark, legs are partly yellow, no presutural ac, base of antenna is dark, mid tibia has only one row of posterior setae, palpus not dilated, notopleuron bare, three postsutural dc, prealar seta distinct, arista plumose and scutellum bare beneath, flagellemore brown-black, legs predominantly yellow - Phaonia mystica.

Both are rare species, so I believe I went wrong somewhere but where ?

August 8. 2009 Loviisa, Finland.

Jari

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Female of P.mystica has no interfrontals and the longest hairs of arista are longer than width of flagellomere

Female of P.apicalis has longest hairs of arista shorter than with of flagellomere ...

Maybe it helps..?

Joke

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Hmmm, this is getting more interesting. There are no interfrontals for sure and the longest hairs of arista are shorter than flagellemore is wide (or maybe one or two are as long)

Jari

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Sorry...In Gregor at all. there is no mention about interfrontals at P.apicalis, but (according to Hennig) female P.apicalis has also no interfrontals !

Maybe main differents is that P.mustica should have next to the frontals more than 1 rows of short hairs and P.apicalis should have only 1 row of few spread hairs.

Joke

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Thank's Joke,

I believe we are looking at P.apicalis. :)

Jari

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I go along, ....but maybe wait for Stephane who could think otherwise :S
Or can confirm..

Joke :)

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I didn't yet get the luck to see this species, but P. apicalis seems to be right (scutellum has paler tip to me). Good find. ;)

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Thank You. Seems to be rare species at least up here :D

Jari