Water Treader IMG_2165 - Mesovelia

Moved

Moved from True Bugs.

The size isn't given, but these are undoubtedly M. mulsanti. The important characters used in identfying Mesovelia species are a row of spines on the venter of the pro- and mesofemora and in the male, the presence/absence of two setal tufts on the venter of the last apparent abdominal segment. I've been sifting through the literature and can't find any good dorsal characters (other than size) that will aid in separating all three North American species. I've also been looking at material from my collection. It's a shame, but none of the important characters seem to be observable except in a straight on ventral view.

Would you happen to still have the specimens?

… Brady Richards, 7 July, 2012 - 5:44pm

Images Added

I added images that show the lower portions better but the angle may not be low enough. I'm not seeing the femora spines but I do see what I am guessing might be the abdominal tufts.

The added images of the male may not be the same individual.

I'm guessing the female is under 6 mm. The last image added shows a female on duckweed and mosquito fern with a water strider for comparison, though I'm not sure that's much help either. I'll frass the image later to avoid confusion.

… Steve Nanz, 8 July, 2012 - 5:28am