syrphid - Spilomyia longicornis

Moved

… Ken Wolgemuth, 4 May, 2021 - 11:22am

Moved

… Ken Wolgemuth, 28 April, 2021 - 3:13pm

looks close to longicornis, but...

...longicornis usually flies late summer to fall. I have been looking at illustrations and keys in Thomson (1)
alcimus and texana seem to be the other possibilities, and they both have narrow black bands on abdomen so that it is mostly yellow.
Hmm. Skevington (2) says longicornis flies as early as late May in Northeast, so maybe late April is logical in SC.
Edit. Skevington also notes that scutellum of longicornis is black with a yellow rim and in alcimus (also texana, but not covered in Skevington) the scutellum is mostly yellow. The scutellum matches alcimus/texana better than longicornis and so does the phenology. A real puzzle.

… Cotinis, 3 May, 2021 - 8:07pm

thanks!

Very interesting, thanks!

I wish I had got a better shot of it. It was above me on a beech tree and after several bad shots I tried to coax it closer to me and of course lost it when it flew away.

… Kim Fleming, 3 May, 2021 - 8:31pm

I've asked Bill Dean to have a look.

With luck, he'll be able to sort it out.

… Ken Wolgemuth, 3 May, 2021 - 8:29pm

I had sent it to Martin and w

I had sent it to Martin and we both thought it was likely a teneral longicornis but it is safe in Spilomyia.
There are some alcimus with the scutellum more extensively black which seems a variable feature but alcimus and texana have the black markings on tergites thin and separated at middle, at least on tergite 3.

… Bill Dean, 4 May, 2021 - 1:37am

Male.

… Bill Dean, 4 May, 2021 - 1:27am

added photo

I've just added one more photo, the only other slightly different angle I was able to get.

… Kim Fleming, 4 May, 2021 - 7:18am

katepimeron yellow-->longicornis(?)

Looking at Skevington (1) who has really good photos of alcimus vs. longicornis, it looks like the katepimeron (visible through the wing) is yellow. That is supposed to be a mark for longicornis, so that would seem to be definitive.
Odd the scutellum is yellow (mostly black in longicornis) and the triangular yellow mark on the thorax is broader than is typical for longicornis, looking more like photos I've seen of alcimus.
Guess I have to join team longicornis!

… Cotinis, 4 May, 2021 - 9:30am

The new picture is great. Spi

The new picture is great. Spilomyia longicornis it is.

… Bill Dean, 4 May, 2021 - 11:19am

thanks

Thanks to everybody. I enjoyed learning from this discussion.

… Kim Fleming, 5 May, 2021 - 7:08am