Not a fly I know, l so forgive me, but does anyone know, please, either how to identify stylopids, or if anyone has a special interest in them who might like specimens? At least they have only two wings, if the wrong pair! I have caught a couple of males of these remarkable and enigmatic insects in the last month, in a Malaise trap set on the edge of a pond. They are tiny - 1mm body length. Is this typical? Photos attached. I'd be grateful for any info.
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This one is Elenchus…
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That's tremendous, Tony. …
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That's tremendous, Tony. Many thanks. I never expected the speciment to be identified to species level. There are the strangest creatures.
This one is Elenchus tenuicornis - probably the commonest species caught by sweeping and malaise trapping. (The long bifid antennae are characteristic.) The hosts are delphacid hoppers. Other Strepsiptera are most often found as females, still embedded in the abdomens of their aculeate hosts, or as males attending these females. I believe the coleopterists take an interest in this group, but can't recall the latest ideas on the evolutionary relationships or higher systematics.