Diptera.info

Posted by Christine Devillers on 11-08-2017 19:36

Hi,

Could it be a male of Ectophasia oblonga ?
(Belgium, Spa, 2017-07-17)

Christine

Edited by Christine Devillers on 12-08-2017 19:36

Posted by johnes81 on 11-08-2017 21:17

I think that it looks more like crassipennis male. The longitudinal stripe seems to be 1/5 of the abdomen width. The abdomen doesn't look longer than wide to me. Amazingly, the haustellum is always concealed behind something, so unable to determine length.

Wait for a specialist if they disagree.

Posted by Zeegers on 12-08-2017 07:54

although these Ectophasia are extremely variable, generally speaking males of oblonga are much redder. So I agree, this is most likely crassipennis.

Oblonga is not (yet) recorded from Belgium, is it ?

Theo

Posted by Christine Devillers on 12-08-2017 13:09

Thank you both,

I hesitated between oblonga and crassipennis because this male didn't look like the males of crassipennis that I usually see (the abdomen seemed longer and the sternite 3 narrower)

I don't know if Ectophasia oblonga has yet been seen in Belgium, but it is not reported from Belgium on the site of observation.be and of the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences of Belgium

Christine

Posted by johnes81 on 12-08-2017 13:47

#10

Hello, I want to elaborate on this thread but I will create my own thread to avoid confusion. I'll edit this post with a link to my new thread after posting.

https://diptera.info/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=80765

Edited by johnes81 on 12-08-2017 13:55

Posted by Piluca_Alvarez on 12-08-2017 13:56

#11

Only a little comment if somebody might be interested: this is being a catastrophic year for insects in Spain, but surprisingly it has been a good year for Ectophasia oblonga :) First time ever that I see it in real life and not once but several times :) No idea how it has been for the species in Central Europe.

And this one is E. crassipennis for me too. I always try to focus in abdomen's shape and avoid colours for the same reason Theo has mentioned (guess from whom I learned that ;)).

Posted by johnes81 on 12-08-2017 14:04

#12

Hello Piluca, I must admit that this thread has me losing confidence with my judgement of Ectophasia. Have a look at my post when you have time. What is your opinion?

Posted by Christine Devillers on 13-08-2017 08:59

#13

Thanks for the information Piluca,
Do you have pictures of different look of oblonga male ?

Christine

Posted by Piluca_Alvarez on 14-08-2017 05:51

#14

Dear Christine, I do have pictures but you get me at a pretty bad moment to process them :( I will take note of this so that I don't forget and I shall post them as soon as I can (but it will be in days to come). Hopefully, this picture of E. oblonga can help to tell the difference :)

http://www.biodiv...26460.html

The abdominal colour is usually more 'pinky' (hence the problem with the colours) but abdominal shape is diagnostic.

Best

Piluca

Edited by Piluca_Alvarez on 14-08-2017 05:52

Posted by Christine Devillers on 14-08-2017 20:04

#15

Thank you very much Piluca, it's very kind of you.
Christine