Thank you, Tony. I am looking at the Royal En Soc key but wondered if you know of a more up-to-date key, with diagrams and photos if poss? And do you think there is any chance I will get it to species with these photos? It was found in sea club-rush at Red Rocks Marsh, Wirral, Merseyside.
Hi Martin
I have a recent specimen which looks very similar to that and keyed out to H.pubescens in both Fonseca and Frantiscek et al. I am not 100% convinced that is correct but both keys is a good sign ... or same mistake twice ...
Its front tibia has a posterior bristle clearly visible in this photo so it can't key out to lasiophthalma? If you start at couplet 58/61 and go to 61 (because abd and tibia bristles both don't match) then I think you end up same place as me
Cheers
Ali
My Fonseca keying:
Subfamilies:
4. Pteropleuron bare
5. Not Fanniidae
6. Palpi not spathulate
7. Not equilateral triangle katep.
-> Phaoniinae
Phaoniinae:
2. Discal not curved forward
4. Not Acanthiptera
10. Hind coxae bare posteriorly
12. Labella normal
28. Tib 3 no d/pd
30. Discal not curved forward (!)
31. Fem2 with well dev'd anterior apical, thoracic centrum pale stripe
33. Radial bare
34. Pre-alar well dev'd, 4 dk thoracic stripes
-> Helina
Helina:
6. Hypopleuron bare
20. Radial bare (upper and lower)
44. Tib3 no pd
48. No pre-sut acros
49. 4 post dcs
55. Sterno-Pl 2:1 (5F)
57. Arista plumose
61. Abd no paired spots
62. Eyes hairy
Scut tip yellow
Arista wide
X-veins distinctly infuscated
->H.pubescens
Also on the wishlist is for these forum posts to be tidied up so it's easier to see who has replied to who!
Martin Drake (Organiser of the Dolichopodidae Recording Scheme) and Jon Cole have produced drawings of the male genitalia which are useful for dissected specimens - they're not much help with photos. Chrysotus is a genus I wouldn't try to identify from photos. Even with a specimen, Fonseca's key can be misleading.
Thank you, Tony. Are the drawings on this website somewhere? I have looked on the Dolichopodidae Recording Scheme page but couldn't see them.
Many thanks,
Vanessa
Sorry...the first and third photos are the same specimen (for some reason they haven't appeared in the order i put them on!)
The second photo is a different specimen.
I am reliably informed that -
"It could be Tipula (Yamatotipula) lateralis or T. (Acutipula) vittata; both can have the abdomen of that colour, with sublateral dark stripes. Of course, at whole animal view, these are very different in size, wing pattern and top of thorax stripe pattern. Since the abdomen dark stripes are not intensely dark, I suspect it is lateralis but that is not a firm det. The inner claspers are different but since the key features are obscured (as usual) the key does without that detail."
(from the genitalia drawings I would go for lateralis; but I am usually wrong)
I found I have one voucher specimen of Tipula vittata and photographed its thorax to compare with a specimen of Tipula lateralis (I rechecked I got the pictures the right way around).
Finally got the upload to work, have to click on 'Image' to continue
I always find it difficult to work from photographs, but that looks to me like a dorsocentral.
I agree with Dolichopodidae, and Chrysotus appears likely