Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Calliphora vomitoria? (01.08.18) --> Onesia austriaca

Posted by johnes81 on 02-08-2018 17:56
#5

Hello Jürgen, Onesia are very abundant in Germany but they are usually undetected. If you can find an area where adults emerge, then you can find many of them feeding on nectar with many different types of diptera. You can find them through November. Keep your eyes open for more. Sometimes it is easy to overlook them on flowers if you are focused on something else. For example, i was photographing a Tachina fera last year when i noticed a male Onesia austriaca sitting right beside it. They are a bit shy and move very quickly. I think that they often scatter as one approaches the flower, so they go unnoticed.

one last note: i have a very dark specimen which confused me and even confused Dr. Rognes. After a bit of research, I discovered that the original description mentions that they are black. I can confirm that they are sometimes very dark. My personal key to separate them from Calliphora is the bend of the median vein, the thin palpi (Calliphora palpi are thicker and more of an orange color) and the dark anterior spiracle. The abdomen can be blue or green or dark blue mixed with silver and black tessellations.

Best wishes,
John