Syrphid - Epistrophella

Moved

… Martin Hauser, 30 August, 2016 - 12:13pm

Moved

… Martin Hauser, 30 December, 2014 - 8:34pm

Weird Xanthogramma - the fron

Weird Xanthogramma - the frons pattern seems right, but the scutellum is solid yellow instead of black with a yellow margin, and the abdominal pattern feels off... is there a lot of variation in the species?

… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 31 December, 2014 - 4:38am

There is quite some variation

There is quite some variation, which is normal for this genus, but when I moved some Xanthogramma yesterday, I realized we have for sure multiple species in the US, and "officially" there is only one known... that is why I start moving them under the genus and not under the species.. That will be a nice project in future...

… Martin Hauser, 31 December, 2014 - 10:37am

thanks Martin

Glad you corrected my mistake here. I meant to revisit it earlier but forgot! Checking the key again, I see where my mistake was made.

… Brad Barnd, 8 January, 2016 - 1:23am

unfortunately I made the mist

unfortunately I made the mistake.... It is Epistrophella and not Xanthogramma. The main characetr to distinguish both is that Epistrophella has a sub scutellar fringe and Xanthogramma does not. For the more easy to see characters, Epistrophella has an all yellow scutellum, Xanthogramma always has the base black to 3/4 black! that took me a while, I hope I have it right now!

… Martin Hauser, 30 August, 2016 - 12:12pm

Epistrophella emarginata (Say), female

Moved from Syrphid Flies. ID'd from specimen, now a photo-voucher. Thanks Tom.

I think this must be E. emarginata, as it has the lateral stripes on the scutum and a margined abdomen. This species is somewhat variable in coloration (1).

… Brad Barnd, 27 June, 2014 - 12:13am

Xanthogramma sp., female

Corrected ID.

… Brad Barnd, 8 January, 2016 - 1:25am

(see my comment on the other

(see my comment on the other image; my guesses as to ID are based on the dorsal shot here)

This little fly is puzzling me... it keys out to (maybe) Epistrophella emarginata, but the abdominal markings don't seem quite right. It almost looks closer to Sphaerophoria, but the abdomen feels too broad. So... not sure!

… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 27 November, 2013 - 5:56pm

Unlinking these two images, a

Unlinking these two images, as one is female and the other male by eye position and appearance.

… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 13 January, 2014 - 12:02am