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Hi,

Ruud, I think I have a different one for you! I had named this L. bifurcata, it seems to be correct. Is it? One pd on t1.

It kept throwing itself on it's back so I thought it was dead so I only got one good shot from above, one underneath. It was at past 3.3oam on my kitchen table and I was desperate to go to bed so I put it outside. :D

28th June 2011, near Lincoln UK.

Janet

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crop

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No, I didn't tickle it's tummy. :D

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why do you think it is bifurcata? To me it looks lutea again. The scutellu, the dark antennae....no ventral bristles on the middle tibiae.

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"t1 without pd." = L. lutea.

"t1 with one weak pd." = L. furcata which I assume is now bifurcata.

Keys to the USSR Lonchopteridae.

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L. bifurcata characters from left to right
1. tibia 1. with 3 dorsal setae
2. tibia 2. with 1 ventral setae
3. no long bristles on R1
4. pale vt bristles

It is the dominant species in northern Sweden. I have only seen females (partigonesis). The color is variable.
The bristle on tibia 1 doesn't fit lutea so i think it's bifurcata you have

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Thank you mossnisse, that does look to fit! :)

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This evening I will check upstairs....I am now enjoying breakfast!
I do not see the ventral bristle on the 2nd tibia, which makes me think it is lutea

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btw, interesing that Collin mentions that it is as variable as lutea. Sometimes I am quite convinced to have some other species than lutea in front of me, but then it is just a very dark variation or a very, very light one.
First I look at the 2nd tibiae. Then to the scutellum, thirdly to the antennae. When I see no bristle on the 2nd tibiae, the scutellum is not black and the antennae are dark, I draw the conclusion that it is lutea. But perhaps dangerous when you are in an area where also bifurcata is common.

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Hence the large number of synonyms.

The early spring specimens of lutea seem to be very dark (with a few exceptions)

Keep looking Janet - bifurcata in not uncommon. tristis is easy to find especially on damp beech leaf litter in the autumn.

meijerei & nigrociliata are uncommon found near slow flowing shallow rivers.

scutellata in tussock grass.

Lonchoptera nigrociliata are rare.

Lutea are fairly cosmopolitan and will probably be the most common in all of the above habitats, so careful sorting is needed to spot the uncommon species.

Mark

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Males do exist, but are very rare, I think I may be correct in saying they have only been found in the UK and France?

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Thanks, Mark! Very good to have this information. I will certainly keep my eyes open when I see beech leaf litter. You may expect meijerei and nigrociliata then also normal here in the Netherlands. It is is just a matter of looking at the right place, as usual.

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Another interesting discussion! ;)

First, I have to say I disagree with you Ruud on it being L. lutea. Yes they are very variable, I have some which are dark brown and some all yellow, both late in the year! I have checked all of them and none have the pd on t1, that is given in the keys as stated in my earlier post where L. bifurcata does have this pd on t1.

Also, as mossnisse has stated, mine does not have dark verticals, they are pale which can be seen, I lightened a photo to show it better. All my others have black verticals which are very obvious.

The ventral bristles on the middle tibiae you refer to I believe is one near the distal end, as can be seen in the photo in the gallery belonging to Jorge.

http://www.dipter...to_id=1785

This area will be obscured by the hind leg in the upside down photo, the other leg is out of focus. I have marked where it should be on this photo..

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Pale verticals..

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1pd on t1

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For comparison, a L. lutea I got on 19th September at night on my door outside.

Black verticals

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No pd on t1. If you go back through old threads you will find this mentioned often.

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Mug shot

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Thanks for the excellent photo's!

Well, to be honest, I only used the key of Collin, since it was the only key I had. I received some other keys yesterday. I will study them in the weekend.
As said in an earlier message I paid mainly attention to the 2nd tibiae, the scutellum, the colour of the antennae.
I will certainly look for the other species! I collect them rarely myself, but I see them fairly often in material from Malaise traps.

have a nice weekend,

Ruud

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All a good process of learning Ruud, you will see better if you look at the other keys (which you kindly sent to me :)).

The weekend is coming colder! We will be stuck in the middle of weather from both sides maybe bringing snow!

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Well, it is not my intention to spend too much time on it. Heleomzyidae, Empididae, Hybotidae, etc require already enough time. But when I see a Lonchoptera, I am always curious for another species than just lutea.

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Oh Boy! That's some discussion you guys have been having, way above my head. However, I'm really just been cheeky and saying "Hi" and to see if my avatar has worked... I know, I'm just a big kid really...

WHY didn't you tickle the fly's tummy? It might have liked it.
Have you never heard a fly giggle?

Ginks

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The avatar...It worked, IT WORKED! Yippeeee!

But what the heck is wrong with my signature???

Why isn't the thingy clickable?
Weird... oh well I'll save that problem for another day.

Night night!

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Hi Ginks! Nice avatar! I guess you know what it is? :)

We all start that way, keep looking and you will learn more.

Your signature should work if you remove the space after the first [url]

Re tickling the fly's tummy! I haven't heard a fly laugh, maybe one day I will! If I had tried to tickle it's tummy I probably would have squashed the poor thing, she was already playing dead. These are only around 3mm long! :D