Sphegina hoverfly

[peterbolson]

Swept from rough grassland yesterday. WL 6mm. I think it could be a female S.elegans & would be grateful if someone could confirm this as I've not seen one before.

[Geoff F]

It is also new to me, so all I can do is to consult 'Mr. Stubbs'.

Assuming that we can eliminate Neoascia sp on size grounds, S. clunipes or S. elegans do look possible. S. verecunda should also be considered although it has a shorter abdomen than the other two.

S. elegans has a slightly longer waisted section but I think you would need to see them side by side to really notice the difference.

Unfortunately they appear difficult to separate from a photo. S. elegans has distinctly yellow humeri, if that is any help.

They are mostly found in woodland but S. clunipes tends to prefer areas with plenty of vegetation at ground level.

That, I think, is the best I can offer.

[peterbolson]

Hi Geoff
Yes, that's how I made my identification. I thought the shape was most like that of elegans & that the humeri were yellow.
I'm hoping an expert will confirm it.
Peter

[Roger Morris]

This is S. clunipes.

It is best to read the key and check the chartacters.

1. Yes Sphegina - but not on grounds of size - twin black rings on hind tibia is the character apart from wing veination.

2. Need to separate from S. sibirica - more tricky so I'm going by jizz but it is not S. sibirica.

3. Humeri look to be black, therefore not S. eligans. Must either be S. clunipes or S. verecunda.

4. Cross-vein r-m is beyond Sc. so this makes it S. clunipes.

Regards

Roger

[peterbolson]

Many thanks Roger.
I can see now that what I thought were yellow humeri is in fact pollen !
It's a good one for me as the HRS map has no records in NY33.
Peter