I am puzzled by the marked similarities between Thaumatomyia notata and Chlorops hypostigma. Is it certan that these are separate species?
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Although the colouration and…
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Thank you Tony. I am now…
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Thank you Tony. I am now sure I have T. notata. It's good to learn what the differences are, however slight they may be.
Tony, Here is my best…
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Tony,
Here is my best picture yet of the scutum and scutelleum of this Chloropid? It has one prominent terminal pair of bristles - closely approximated - with a much smaller pair of terminal bristles adjacent, and a very insignificant pair of terminal dorsocentrals. I think this confirms the i/d as T. notata?
Although the colouration and pattern of the body is very similar, there are consistent structural differences between these two (and indeed between all Chlorops and Thaumatomyia). One of the easiest to see is the scutellum which is flat with closely-approximated apical bristles in Thaumatomyia, and convex with more widely positioned bristles in Chlorops. Do be wary of comparing on-line images of the two - it's highly likely that the photographers have misidentified their subjects. As a rule, DIptera.info has photos which are reliably named, as does Steven Falk's Flickr site, but I treat most everything else with suspicion.