Wasp-mimic Syrphid - Spilomyia longicornis - BugGuide.Net

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Photo#10969

Copyright © 2005 Lynette Elliott

Wasp-mimic Syrphid - Spilomyia longicornis

Fort Bragg, Cumberland County, North Carolina, USA
July 14, 2004

Named this one after the Wasp-mimic Syrphid - Spilomyia longicornis from the guide pages. Is it right? I'm specifically going from the V marking and the weird striped eyes, but I don't know if that's enough.

Contributed by Lynette Elliott on 7 February, 2005 - 11:11am
Last updated 27 March, 2011 - 6:49pm

Yes, I think so

Yes, that appears to be it. See the guide page. There are species S. fusca and S. alcimus listed for the state at NCSU, but with very few specimens. Your photo, and mine, seem to fit in with photos and descriptions I've sen of S. longicornis. (Again, see the guide page.) We have S. fusca in the guide from Maine and it looks quite different. S. alcimus I see listed from Illinois on the web, but I have no further information.

So I think the critter we have both seen in good old NC is S. longicornis, to high degree of plausibility! (We're all amateurs here, and it may never be possible to be 100% certain from photographs, but without getting specimens and going to a museum, I feel this is about as certain as we are going to get on a species-level determination in Syrphidae. As always, I am prepared to wear orthopedic shoes--to stand corrected.)

Patrick Coin
Durham, North Carolina

… Cotinis, 7 February, 2005 - 12:31pm

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