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Photo#1052127
Syrphid Fly sp, female - Platycheirus - female

Syrphid Fly sp, female - Platycheirus - Female
Cupertino, foothills/suburban, Santa Clara County, California, USA
March 30, 2015

Images of this individual: tag all
Syrphid Fly sp, female - Platycheirus - female Syrphid Fly, female - Platycheirus - female Syrphid Fly, female - Platycheirus - female Syrphid Fly, female - Platycheirus - female

The yellow colour on the face
The yellow colour on the face is the same colour as the pollen, the ragged upper edge suggests this may be staining rather than actual colour and it is staining part of the frons too. The face ground colour may in fact be black.
The scutellum is usually more yellow than the scutum in Melangyna, more rounded, ( more triangular here ) and the face is more produced than I would expect in Melangyna. The added pictures show the front tibia widening and not cylindrical and perhaps the tarsi are flattened dorso-ventrally?
The hind metatarsus looks inflated ( zoomed image ), so
I am now thinking Kelsey is right on this one..... Platycheirus.

Moved
Moved from Syrphid Flies.

 
Not Platycheirus which has a
Not Platycheirus which has a black face. Yellow face with black knob. This is Melangyna.

 
Background color of the face
Background color of the face still looks black to me - I'm seeing the yellow as reflection from the flower. Do you think the face itself is actually yellow?

 
Platycheirus has dull grey du
Platycheirus often has dull grey dusting at sides of face. The face is rather will produced, however. The spots on the abdomen have a semi shinining band connecting the spots. Have you seen that before in Platycheirus?
I have sent it to Martin for him to have a look at.

 
more to come...
1) Originally suspected Platycheiris, but face suggests other.

2) Posting was intended as a Syrphid only; don't know what happened there.

3) More pix, detail and notes to follow -- please be patient. Posted this one incomplete last night, got diverted, sorry 'bout that; will complete posting asap.

 
The yellow appearance of the
The yellow appearance of the face may be pollen and the face ground colour may be black. See my comments about other features above. Kelsey could well be right. Pictures showing the front legs would help.

Moved
Moved from Dioprosopa clavata.

A syrphid, but not D. clavata.

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