Thread subject: Diptera.info :: empidid with broad wings
Posted by mwkozlowski on 15-01-2007 08:57
#1
Hi,
look at the picture, quite characteristic, isn't it? I met this fly only once some 10 years ago in a dump forest. Must be from Empididae (head), but those wings! Doe anybody know more about it?
Posted by Jan Willem on 15-01-2007 09:13
#2
Yes, very characteristic.
Rhamphomyia marginata! Your photo would be a nice addition to the Diptera Gallery!
Jan Willem
Edited by Jan Willem on 15-01-2007 09:14
Posted by Kahis on 15-01-2007 10:12
#3
Only the female has those weird wings. The male is a perfectly normal
Rhamphomyia with narrow, transparent wings.
This species is spreading northwards in Finland. It was first found on the south coast in the 1970s and I have recently found it almost at the arctic circle.
Posted by Adrian on 15-01-2007 14:21
#4
The broad wings are used by females in display flights. In most animals males display and mate selection is done by females. In many Empidinae, especially those with wierd wings like R. marginata, it is the females which display and the males fly into display swarms to select which female for mating