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I don’t have a good photo of the area just posterior to the anterior thoracic spiracle but I suspect that those bristles might be visible in a dorsal view. If they would be, I don’t see them.

Assuming that there are no bristles there, this appears to key out to Lonchaea using both the Manual of the Nearctic Diptera and the Lonchaeidae Online keys: setulae on lunule, one bristle on katepisternum (as seen in ventral photo), aristae bare. I’ve included a poor photo showing the fully extended ovipositor in case it’s useful.

I’d really appreciate input from those with more expertise than me. TIA











Edit: fixed the link to the lousy ovipositor photo

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Ah - North American Lonchaeidae - a rather neglected group in recent years! Anyway Steve you are quite correct this is a female Lonchaea spp perhaps near to Lonchaea albidala McAlpine although its almost impossible to tell without having the specimen under a microscope. You don't still have the specimen by any chance??

best wishes ............. Iain
http://lonchaeida...cies.info/

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Thanks Iain! I'm afraid I let her go after I was done taking photos – I keep insects confined to a spectrophotometer cuvette when photographing indoors.
What would you need to see under a microscope to make a species ID? If it's an external feature, I may be able to photograph it if I catch another one
Thanks again.

Steve