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Photo#817348
Ozodiceromyia livdahli - female

Ozodiceromyia livdahli - Female
Florida Station, Santa Rita Experimental Range, Pima County, Arizona, USA
July 27, 2013
Size: 10 mm (ref.)
This strongly-marked fly was hanging out at a porch light at the station. An expert present suggested it is a stiletto fly, and the markings seem a close match to Ozodiceromyia nigrimana, of which we have many images here:



However the antennae do not look right--much longer and less pressed-together at the base than in the images here.

Additional note. I was hunting around and chanced on a photo of a very similar fly, coloration and antennae very close, in this reference:
DONALD W. WEBB, et al. An annotated catalogue of the New World Therevidae (Zootaxa 3600) 105 pp.; 30 cm. 11 Jan. 2013. ISBN 978-1-77557-080-6 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-77557-081-3 Online edition.
See page 9, figure 13:
FIGURES 9–16. Therevidae. Figures 9-15. Therevinae:
13. Ozodiceromyia livdahli Gaimari and Irwin, female;
Photo credits: ... Stephen Marshall (10, 12, 13, 14, 15)...
page 50 gives information on that species:
Ozodiceromyia livdahli Gaimari and Irwin 2000b: 570. Type locality USA, Arizona, 8.1 km E Fort Apache. HT -- male (MEI 038101) CAS. Gaimari and Irwin (2000b: 562 phylog., 572 dist., 581 key, Figs. 2 dist. map, 5–6 -- phylog., 24, 28 male genit.).
Reference:
Gaimari, S.D. & Irwin, M.E. (2000b) Revision of the mexicana-group of the cycloteline genus Ozodiceromyia Bigot (Diptera: Therevidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 102(3), 561–600 (BHL link).

Quoting from p. 563 of that reference:
"The small, easily recognized mexicana-group is characterized by an elongated antennal scape and first flagellomere, as well as the slightly elongated, barrel-shaped pedicel. In total, the antenna is longer than the head, and is densely setose, including setae on the median surface. This surface is bare in nearly all other members of the genus."

So it seems genus Ozodiceromyia (mexicana group) is certain perhaps (!) Ozodiceromyia livdahli. (Of the species described in the reference above, livdahli is the one noted mostly from Arizona.)
Illustrations in that reference (here) show that this is a female, based on dichoptic eyes. Length for this group of species (female) is given as 10 mm, a bit lower than my estimate.

gathering_2013
Update. Also posted at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/95661890.

Images of this individual: tag all
Ozodiceromyia livdahli - female Ozodiceromyia livdahli - female Ozodiceromyia livdahli - female Ozodiceromyia livdahli - female

Moved
Moved from mexicana-group.

Patrick, I concur...this indeed seems to be O. livdahli!
As you noted, the very long antennae (longer than head) place this unequivocally in the "mexicana species group", and the distribution maps in Gaimari & Irwin(2000) for the four species treated therein strongly suggest livdahli, as records indicate the other 3 species have ranges significantly further to the south in Mexico...

Distribution map links: O. livdahli; O. mexicana; O. argentifera; and O. parargentifera

But collection records are almost always incomplete...and range extensions occur often...so your caution is merited ;-).

However, scrutinizing the "O. mexicana species group" key in Gaimari & Irwin(2000), I think the other 3 candidates can be eliminated by diagnostic characters visible in your photos. Note that couplets 2-4 of the key indicate:

A) O. mexicana has: (1) longer, denser, setae on the antennal scape (cf. Fig 10); and (2) "Face beneath antenna shiny black, lacking pruinescence"...whereas the other species have mostly shorter setae on the scape; and silver pruinosity beneath the antennal bases...as seen in your 4th photo below:

 

B) O. parargentifera has halteres brown in both sexes, whereas your photo thumbnailed above displays "halteres yellow" (as in O. livdahli and O. argentifera);

C) Finally, the key character given at couplet 4 to separate females of O. argentifera and O. livdahli, respectively, is: a) "appressed pile on abdominal tergites gold" vs. b) "appressed pile on abdominal tergites brown and white". Scrutinizing your 2nd photo:

 

...and after "zooming-in" on the full-size Flickr version (e.g. by repeatedly pressing the "cntl-+" keys on a Windows machine, or "cmd-+" on a Mac)...the small amount of sparse appressing pile I can see on the abdomen (e.g. near the tops of the two tergites with posterior white bands) appears white (rather than gold).

So diagnostic characters of the key also lead to O. livdahli for the female here...in concert with what the range maps suggested.

Moved
Moved from Stiletto Flies. See reference in caption--appears that the antennae are distinctive for this group.

 
:)
Nice!

Moved
Moved from Flies.

 
thanks--additional info in caption
Thanks, John, for verification of the family. I happened across a photo of a fly that looks real close, identified as Ozodiceromyia livdahli (female), type specimen from this part of Arizona. Information and links are in the caption above. Any thoughts on whether these photos should be moved at least to the genus level? (I realize this is a difficult and little-studied group.)

Moved--to Diptera
Moved from Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies. Thanks, Yurika!

I don't know what it is but...
Antennae looks wrong for Ozodiceromyia?

And you posted in wrong order ;)

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