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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Orthorrhapha » Tabanomorpha » Snipe Flies (Rhagionidae) » Chrysopilus » Golden-backed Snipe Fly (Chrysopilus thoracicus)

Species Chrysopilus thoracicus - Golden-backed Snipe Fly

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Golden-backed Snipe Fly - Chrysopilus thoracicus - male Fly On Wood - Chrysopilus thoracicus Large Black+Gold fly - Chrysopilus thoracicus - male flying insect - Chrysopilus thoracicus Fly 050816 ? - Chrysopilus thoracicus - male Chrysopilus thoracicus - Chrysopilus thoracicus - male - female Fly - Chrysopilus thoracicus - male Golden-backed Snipe Fly - Chrysopilus thoracicus - male - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon (Orthorrhapha)
Infraorder Tabanomorpha
Family Rhagionidae (Snipe Flies)
Genus Chrysopilus
Species thoracicus (Golden-backed Snipe Fly)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Chrysopilus thoracicus (Fabricius, 1805)
Explanation of Names
Genus name Chrysopilus means "golden-hair" and thoracicus refers to the golden patch on the thorax, presumably.
Size
male: 10-12 mm; female: 10-13 mm (Leonard, 1930)
Identification
Larger than a house fly with distinctive smoky-colored wings and gold patch on upper thorax.

Another recognized species, Chrysopilus davisi, is very similar but lacks the silvery hairs on the abdomen. C. thoracicus and C. davisi seem to represented here, but they could be the same species. See photo below for what is possibly an interspecific pairing:
Range
Eastern North America
Habitat
Deciduous woodlands
Season
Spring. April-May (North Carolina).
Food
Adults are alleged to be predatory on other insects, but they may feed little (observations by BugGuide members).
Life Cycle
Details unknown. This fly is observed in early to mid-spring perched quietly on low vegetation in deciduous woodlands.
Remarks
The coloration (dark wings, gold thorax)is perhaps mimicry of a hymenopteran. Another Chrysopilus species (see Milne and Milne, below) appears to be a very good hymenopteran mimic, with a prominently striped abdomen.
See Also
Chrysopilus davisi
Print References
Brimley, p. 330 (1)
Eaton and Kaufman, p. 286-287, color photo (2)
Leonard, M.D. 1930. A revision of the dipterous family Rhagionidae (Leptidae) in the United States and Canada. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 7: 1-181 (BHL link)
Lutz, Field Book of American Insects (3)
Marshall, p. 445--color photo (4)
Milne and Milne illustrate a related Chrysopilus species, the common name "Golden-backed Snipe Fly" (5)
Internet References
Giff Beaton--scroll down page for Snipe Flies
Works Cited
1.Insects of North Carolina
C.S. Brimley. 1938. North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
2.Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America
Eric Eaton, Kenn Kaufman. 2006. Houghton Mifflin.
3.Field Book of Insects of the United States and Canada, Aiming to Answer Common Questions,
Frank Eugene Lutz. 1935. Putnam Pub Group.
4.Insects: Their Natural History And Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America
Stephen A. Marshall. 2006. Firefly Books Ltd.
5.National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders
Lorus and Margery Milne. 1980. Knopf.
Contributed by Cotinis on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by Bbarnd
Last updated 18 June, 2021 - 10:52am

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