Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Musca autumnalis -> Musca sp.

Posted by Stephane Lebrun on 26-04-2017 20:15
#7

First there are many other Musca species : osiris, tempestiva, vitripennis, lucidula, sorbens, albina, crassirostris, ventrosa, xanthomelas...
Some need details which are not visible from photographs (hairs on propleuron, suprasquamal ridge etc.).
Some species are easy to ID though (M. ventrosa for example is the only species with a wholly yellow abdomen), but some species are very close and difficult to separate from pictures (like M. autumnalis/larvipara). These later can be distinguished by the hairiness of suprasquamal ridge and/or the genal distribution of hairiness. Musca domestica has got a broad frons and a rather elongated abdomen (and the propleuron is hairy). I can't write a complete key here of course. For Musca, collecting is the best way to get a reliable identification.