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Photo#156597
Yellow and black Syrphid Fly - Allograpta exotica - female

Yellow and black Syrphid Fly - Allograpta exotica - Female
Sunnyvale, Santa Clara County, California, USA
May 27, 2007

Images of this individual: tag all
Yellow and black Syrphid Fly - Allograpta exotica - female Yellow and black Syrphid Fly - Allograpta exotica - female Yellow and black Syrphid Fly - Allograpta exotica - female Yellow and black Syrphid Fly - Allograpta exotica - female Yellow and black Syrphid Fly - Allograpta exotica - female Yellow and black Syrphid Fly - Allograpta exotica - female Yellow and black Syrphid Fly - Allograpta exotica - female

Moved

I long for the feeling of certainty when I compare images...
LOL - They NEVER look like the same species to me!
For example, take a look at:


It is very similar to the one in my own picture...but also different.

In effect my fly has much sharper markings on a much longer more tapered abdomen. Is this how the fly grows? by thickening one segment at a time?

On the other hand the wings the head and the shape of the thorax look the same to me, as well as the general pattern on the abdomen...

The one that Ron points to looks much closer to this one.

 
Fly development
No, a fly grows as a maggot. The ones with six legs, wings, antennae etc. are always fully grown adults. Don't hesitate filling in the immature/adult field. I have to write an article about it.
BTW the maggots, not the adults, are the ones that eat aphids. There are a few pictures of them, including one of mine.

 
I was going by the instructions in the submission form ..
which made me think that the adult field was used for caterpillars vs. butterflies. It makes sense that any insect that undergoes a metamorphoses from a vastly different juvenile to an adult could benefit from more wide use of this additional data field being used. It might even be useful if the guide would pre-select adult, and then leave it to the submitter to update this to juvenile. My guess would be that that would result in greater use of this data field, and thus provide more search results for those seeking images of "juveniles". I don't think the occasional inclusion of juveniles by the default adult would cause any more problems than the current situation of mostly leaving this field blank. My guess is that people searching for adults and submitting adults in practice, simply enter the genus-species / common names and don't bother with the adult/juvenile designation, assuming that adults are what they will be dealing with. On the other hand, I think people submitting juveniles will likely realize that people will most likely expect to see an adult, if not indicated to the contrary. I wonder if this might be a suggestion worth making?

I do appreciate your taking the time to explain about growth as an adult aspect. I am still a little (read: a lot) uncomfortable asking such basic questions.

Along those lines...Would members of the same species of flies be expected to have the same number of abdominal segments?

 
A work in progress
As Bugguide develops things need to be changed. Read Forum on adult/immature. Sooner or later we'll have to do something about this. It is not just about butterflies; it is important for all insects.

Yes, the number of segments is constant for all flies.

Ron and Beatriz - So sorry!
I recently had a problem not getting subscription notifications (due to my own mistake - a typo on my email address :(

Anyway, I have been looking through the Syrphids and had not check out the one you mentioned above...will do so now!

Thanks for the help!

Oops! I called her a fella1 (I did not forget about the separation of the eyes indicating female...I just really have to see both male and female to know how separated!).

...

additional comment question...the coloration...is it that the male is a much brighter yellow? Also is the male smaller? The male Allographa obliqua look very different, I will have to confine my comparison to females, I guess!

Thanks again!

 
Male/female
Male is smaller. Female has a more tapered body. I don't think color has anything to to with gender. Dark ones like yours aren't the norm, from what I've seen and what's been posted here.

 
Aha! You were referring to the dark areas being darker!
...whereas I was thinking that the yellows being paler - almost an ivory off-white color was the discrepancy that you were pointing out. What is also surprising is the degree of redness that is seen in some of the eyes of other individuals.

It was interesting what Troy referred to in the info pages - That that the adults eat aphids! - I was sure I'd observed this behavior by some hover flies, but they are so small it is difficult to tell for sure.

Which species?
It looks like Allograpta but different enough from others in the guide that it may be another species, there are four listed by Nearctica. I would lilke to know what it is.

 
Must I repeat myself?
You must have missed this one on the three pages of images:

Hey, this is where I learned about it.

Stunning: Allograpta obliqua
This isn't the typical color for this beautiful female syrphid. The oblique marks provide ID to species. Nice series, Mac.

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