Waved Light Fly - Pyrgota undata

Female

I followed up with Paul Beuk regarding the sexing of my photo and Patrick's, and here's what he said:

"I think I stand to be corrected by myself because you now draw my attention to this picture. I dove into my books and the previous picture is definitely a male and the ones you posted now are from a female. The apical segments in the family are quite different from those in most related families. Especially the lateral view of the new images compare very well with the drawing in the Manual of Nearctic Diptera for the related Sphecomyiella valida. That one has an entirely different wing pattern, though."

… Mike Boone, 6 April, 2005 - 1:29pm

Waved Light Fly--Pyrgota undata, male?

Neat photos. They come to lights, as the name would suggest.
The wing-pattern of this species is apparently distinctive--see guide page.

Yours must be a male. Paul Beuk identified the individual below as a female:

Troy has photos of a mating pair, should help to verify the gender.

Patrick Coin
Durham, North Carolina

… Cotinis, 2 April, 2005 - 4:45pm

Pyrgota undata

Certainly Pyrgota undata. A male.

… Valery A. Korneyev, 3 March, 2008 - 12:23am

Gracias

Thanks Patrick. I didn't see Troy's mating photo...is that online?

… Mike Boone, 2 April, 2005 - 4:53pm

Troy's photo--"images"

He turned off the representative bit on that photo. Just click on "images" tab to show all images. I can't really see the abdomen of either clearly in that photo.

Somebody should double-check on the gender. Female is supposed to have a large, round, ovipostor--is that what we see here, or is that a male-type abdomen? I don't know.

Patrick Coin
Durham, North Carolina

… Cotinis, 2 April, 2005 - 5:00pm

OK, I found Troy's image:

You're right, you can't see much detail in that area. I took a photo of the abdomen of mine from the rear if we need more detail on my specimen.

… Mike Boone, 2 April, 2005 - 5:17pm