Sryphid Fly ? - Hemyda aurata

Moved

… Gary McDonald, 7 November, 2007 - 1:19pm

Moved

Moved from Tachinidae.
It may be Hemyda but I am not sure. At least this is the right subfamily.

… Beatriz Moisset, 4 September, 2007 - 12:50pm

Calyptratae - a possible nudge in the right direction.

See those large "plates" just behind the wings? I thought those were huge halteres until Tony Thomas straightened me out. (The halters are actually tiny; you can see one here.)Any way, the big things are calypters, and these flies are named for them:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/14931

Worth a browse, I'd say. BTW, there are syrphids that look much like this. And yes, I'd say this is the same as your other post.

… Ron Hemberger, 31 August, 2007 - 12:18pm

Ron

Hey, what are the calypters for ?
I believe you told me once that the halteres are "wing stubs" where the hind wings have vanished through evolution, correct ? But just curious about the calypters.

… Sam Houston, 31 August, 2007 - 12:55pm

Halteres are as you said...

...but I don't know about that evolution stuff. (Just kidding.) I thought we had sort of an entomological dictionary onsite, but can't seem to find it. Most of the stuff I've found here on calypters says what they are, rather than their function. However, on one post, the fearless Keith Bayless ventures an opinion: "[T]hey are lobes of the wing that come off the base of it. I think it's likely that they function to aid flight somehow." Thanks, Keith!

… Ron Hemberger, 31 August, 2007 - 1:23pm

They look like Doppler antenn

They look like Doppler antennae. Maybe they get the weather on them!
Or some sort of organic solar collector. Yea, that's it.

… Sam Houston, 31 August, 2007 - 1:34pm

there are a number

of peculiarities in fly wings, such as calypters, venation, and broken costas. I'd like to understand the functional morphology of these structures. If i come upon some answers in my research (reading-wise mostly) i'll tell you. also i moved this image.

… Keith Bayless, 2 September, 2007 - 7:29pm

Tachinidae.

My assessment would be that this is a tachinid, possibly one of the Trichopoda spp without the fancy leg fringe:-)

… Eric R. Eaton, 31 August, 2007 - 12:48pm