Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Psychodidae - Any Help Appreciated

Posted by Calilasseia on 04-11-2014 08:17
#1

I was taking part in a moth trapping session (dated 18th October 2014) along with a fellow entomologist, at a UK location (Ordnance Survey Grid Reference SJ 5479 8353), when something unusual turned up amongst the moth fauna. It was tiny (wingspan just 3 mm), furry in appearance, and although generally moth-like, looked like no Lepidoptera I have ever seen. After a fair amount of searching, I was pointed to a Family of Diptera known as the Psychodidae. Lo and behold, my aberrant specimen appears to belong to this clade!

However, if it is at all possible, despite the less than ideal quality of the attached photo, I wonder if anyone could narrow down the ID a little? I know I'm asking a lot here, but if any of the experts here can offer some suggestions, I'll regard any additional data as duly educational about this frankly amazing looking Diptera clade.

The individual photographed bears some resemblance to Phenumia extricata from the diptera.info gallery, though I'm aware that any such resemblance may be purely coincidental, and that I may have alighted upon yet another of those taxonomic groups requiring detailed dissection, before one can even move to Genus level, let alone species level. However, in anticipation that I might have alighted upon something that can be identified to species level, even despite the difficulties I encountered in trying to obtain a photograph of the specimen in focus, whilst brushing aside various moths behaving in hyperactive manner under a mercury vapour lamp!

So, here's the photograph of the specimen in question. Data as follows:

Location: NW England, OS Grid Reference SJ 5479 8353)
Date: 18th October 2014, specimen photographed at 20:27 GMT
Conditions: uncommonly warm for October in the UK, ambient temperature around 15°C