Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Aschiza" » Hover Flies (Syrphidae) » Syrphinae » Syrphini » Allograpta » Common Oblique Syrphid Fly (Allograpta obliqua)
Photo#355479
Facial features - Allograpta obliqua - female
Copyright © 2009 R. Berg

Facial features - Allograpta obliqua - Female
Alameda County, California, USA
November 29, 2009
I think she was ovipositing, but this photo doesn't show it so clearly. The plant is radish in bud.

Questions: This fly seems to have a structure on her eye shaped like a slice of bread and a ring of projections around her tongue/proboscis that look like pins sticking out. Are these real anatomical features, not photographic artifacts, and if so, what are their functions?
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by R. Berg on 29 November, 2009 - 8:47pm
Last updated 27 December, 2015 - 4:41pm

Moved
Moved from Allograpta.

Yellow katepisternum = obliqua, scutellum and range are wrong for radiata.
… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 27 December, 2015 - 4:41pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Allograpta exotica.
… Ken Wolgemuth, 7 December, 2013 - 3:48pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Common Oblique Syrphid.
… Ken Wolgemuth, 5 April, 2013 - 5:09pm login or register to post comments

Revised ID: Allograpta exotica
White face with black stripe distinguishes this one from A. obliqua, the original ID.
… Ron Hemberger, 5 April, 2013 - 3:50pm login or register to post comments

 
ReRevised ID: Allograpta sp.
Looking again at the face - maybe I should stop that - the color of the stripe is more brown than black. Sorry, but my ID is only good to genus for this one.
… Ron Hemberger, 7 December, 2013 - 1:44pm login or register to post comments

1-1/2 Answers:
1. The eye shows an artifact. It's subtly in at least one other A. obliqua post here and very common in another syrphid, Mexican cactus fly.


1/2. Just a guess on the mouth thing, but I'm seeing hairs, some with pollen attached to form the pin-like deals. (There's a similar effect, sporadically on the insect's back.)
… Ron Hemberger, 30 November, 2009 - 9:04am login or register to post comments

 
Oh
I see what you mean about the hairs and probable pollen. Thanks.
… R. Berg, 30 November, 2009 - 10:13am login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact