syrphid - Sphiximorpha cylindrica

Moved

Moved from Sphiximorpha.
Thanks Aaron. I just wish the picture was in better focus.

… tom murray, 24 August, 2015 - 11:48pm

I can totally relate!

I've got lots of blurry shots that I wish had come out sharper. Sometimes our subjects are less cooperative than they could be :-) But we do the best we can!

At any rate, it's great to have a photo of this rare species...I bet it's the only one currently on the web. And though somewhat blurry, it's actually not a bad image...conveys the gestalt well and shows lots of salient characters (e.g. the strongly "angulated" third longitudinal vein, R4+5, emitting a stump vein into the 1st posterior cell). Just wish we also had a frontal view of head too. But maybe that'll come in the future :-)

This is a fascinating group of wasp-mimics.

… Aaron Schusteff, 25 August, 2015 - 12:02am

Congratulations! This is a new species for the guide.

This keys to S. cylindrica in the most recent key to Sphiximorpha in Thompson (2012). It also keys to that species in the key from Curran (1924), and is in good agreement with the Curran's original 1921 description of that species.

The large somewhat triangular yellow spots on the sides of the 2nd abdominal segment are diagnostic here. Also diagnostic is the fairly long, pale, style (about 2/3 the length of the 1st antennal segment); and also the relatively wide (i.e. unconstricted) "waist" of the 2nd abdominal segment.

The type was collected at Fallen Leaf Lake, next to Lake Tahoe...so, like this individual, was from the northern Sierra Nevada. This is one of two currently known species in the genus from CA.

… Aaron Schusteff, 24 August, 2015 - 11:45pm

With the long antennae it sho

With the long antennae it should be Sphiximorpha. I will check on it, maybe I get it down to species...

… Martin Hauser, 13 July, 2006 - 10:08am

Thanks Martin

Getting it to genus is really good, and species would be great!!

… tom murray, 13 July, 2006 - 8:01pm

A Temnostoma sp. would have modified forelegs, rather than such elongated antennae. There are several Conopid-like Syrphid genera (Doros, Ceriana, etc.).
Mr. Pennards should know to which one genus this fly belongs.

… Richard Vernier, 13 July, 2006 - 2:25am

Some of these western species

Some of these western species are a bit different than I'm used to in the east. Thanks Richard.

… tom murray, 13 July, 2006 - 6:37am