Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Pheneus opacus Coquillett, 1904
Size
Male: 5 mm; Female: 5.5 mm
Identification
Wings nearly hyaline (vs. tinged brownish in our other species, V. comstocki).
Range
CA, CO, NV, NM, ID, UT
In the literature, specimens have been recorded from: Arroyo Seco, Pasadena, CA; Pinnacles Nat. Park, CA; Mesa Verde Nat. Park, CO; west of Carson City, NV; various locales north and east of Boise, ID; near Alamogordo, NM; Bandelier National Monument, NM; and Zion National Park, UT.
Remarks
A detailed description of the male appears in
Leonard(1930); while the female was described in
Pechuman(1938).
The
original description by Coquillett as
Pheneus opacus appeared in Baker(1904).
Print References
Baker, C. F. (1904). Diptera. Reports on Californian and Nevadan Diptera, I. Invertebrata Pacifica. 1:17-39 (
Full Text)
DeLeon, Donald (1938) Notes on the Distribution of
Vermileo in the United States and Mexico with a Description of a New Species. (Diptera: Rhagionidae). Ent. News 49:167-171 (
Full Text)
Leonard, M. D. (1930). A revision of the dipterous family Rhagionidae (Leptidae) in the United States and Canada. Mem. Am. ent. Soc. 7:1-81 (
Full Text...
Vermileo treatment
here)
Nagatomi, A., C. Yang, & D. Yang. (1999). The Chinese species and the world genera of Vermileonidae (Diptera). Tropics, Monograph Series I: 1-154. (
Full Text)
Pechuman, L. L. (1938). A synopsis of the New World species of
Vermileo (Diptera-Rhagionidae). Bull. Brooklyn ent. Soc. 33: 84-89. (
Full Text)
Petersen, Wade H., and Charles W. Baker. (2006). First record of wormlions (Diptera: Vermileonidae) in Idaho. Journal of the Idaho Academy of Science, 42(1). (Text [only] can be read
here)
Wheeler, William Morton (1930). Demons of the Dust. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1930.
Internet References
Curated image from the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History web site.
Short
"Deep Look" video on Vermileo from television station KQED (with substantial contributions from BugGuide editor Joyce Gross :-).