Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Phebellia sp. - tricky tachi...
Posted by Walther Gritsch on 25-07-2010 23:29
#1
Hi
Got this tachinid 25. vii 2010. It was swept from dense grass in a birch forest near Copenhagen.
Body length some 9 mm.
It keys out fairly easily to Phebellia but beyond that I'm lost. My first impression was something like
Ph. stulta, which by the way is the only known Phebellia sp. in Denmark but the presence of small hairs on the parafacials should rule that species out. At least according to T&H.
The closest I get to a decent result is
Ph. villica but I'm sceptical to say the least...
Any help is much appreciated. Any Phebellia seems to be a nice find - according again to the aforementioned gentlemen, who deem all species in the genus rare!
I've made three shots :)
Regards,
Posted by Walther Gritsch on 25-07-2010 23:30
#2
Head shot
Posted by Walther Gritsch on 25-07-2010 23:30
#3
Dorsal
Posted by mwkozlowski on 26-07-2010 07:39
#4
technical question only: have you made the fantastic head shot by multifocous compilation or by single shot?
Edited by mwkozlowski on 26-07-2010 07:39
Posted by Walther Gritsch on 26-07-2010 11:52
#5
Yes, head shot and full lateral view were made by stacking images in Helicon Focus. I use Canon 30D + 65 mm 1-5x.
The picture of the head is made from 19 images over a distance of some 2.5 mm. In this case the lense was set at two times magnification.
Regards,
Posted by mwkozlowski on 26-07-2010 12:28
#6
thanks, canon macro 65 mm and multifocus is realy powerful!
Posted by ChrisR on 26-07-2010 14:49
#7
Phebellia spp. are always tricky, I think ... I hardly ever see them, even through donations. Probably needs Theo's opinion - or a look under the microscope. :)
Posted by Jaakko on 07-08-2010 22:52
#8
Ph. stulta is a good candidate. This one is a female, males I´ve seen (initial ID by Theo) do not have discal bristles, which makes them difficult to place as
Phebellia with T&H key.
Ph. glauca very common in Finland, others seen seldom.
Posted by jorgemotalmeida on 08-08-2010 15:38
#9
it is impossible to get perfect focus of all head with only one shot with mpe. Depth of field is extremely low. Only with Zerene (or other similar stacking program) and multishot it is possible to get photos like Walter did.
only one shot to Voria ruralis (not perfect focus in all head,but almost)
and to Nowickia ferox.
you can check the gallery for other photos in tachinidae/tabanidae set. see www below.
Edited by jorgemotalmeida on 08-08-2010 16:55
Posted by Zeegers on 10-08-2010 20:22
#10
Phebellia is very tricky indeed and moreover, it is a female.
I agree it could be Ph. glauca.
Need to work on this one.
Theo