Syrphini - pos Eupeodes latifasciatus, for ID

[Nettle Runner]

Anston Stones 5 July 2010



Small Syrphini, found at edge of flower meadow / woodland.

In my amateurish attempt at an ID, I worked my way to a possible Eupeodes latifasciatus. Any suggestions as to the correct ID will be appreciated

les

[JRsbugs]

It's a male Syrphus sp., impossible to say which.

E. latifasciatus has ski goggle shaped marks, similar to E. corollae but more slanted at the edges and not always reaching the sides as they do in E. corollae.

Janet

[Geoff F]

E. latifasciatus, along all Eupeodes species, can be very variable in their abdomen markings and your specimen does have rather wide bands for a typical Syrphus. So there is an easy source of confusion there.

But can I just see a black tarsus on the visible front leg? That would clearly point towards Syrphus as Janet suggested.

[JRsbugs]

Syrphus sp. do have very variable marks, this is definitely not E. latifasciatus.

Here's my confirmed shot, taken before I had the macro lens.

[Nettle Runner]

Thanks for taking a look, and for your guidance, Janet & Geoff.

I have another shot that shows the legs; not sure about the black tarsus on the front leg, though.



I would be happy with Syrphus sp. if you confirm.
Thanks again, for taking the time to look and comment.

Les

[Nettle Runner]

Just one more shot, showing the sides of the tergites. Janet, I'm not sure which, if any, of your goggles discription would apply.



Thanks again,
Les

[JRsbugs]

No Les, the goggle description doesn't apply.

You have a male Syrpus sp. If you could confirm there are noticeable hairs on the eyes, you could say it's S. torvus but apparently some others can also have a small amount of hairs on eyes.

The hind femora are showing an obvious at least 3/4 black, that would point towards either S. vitirpennis or S. rectus (if it has no hairs on eyes) which happen to be inseparable!

This site might give you more insight..

Entomology Collection > Syrphus ribesii

Entomology Collection > Syrphus torvus

Entomology Collection > Syrphus vitripennis

[Nettle Runner]

Hi Janet,

Thanks for the most interesting links, I shall note this site for future reference.

My last shot of the hoverfly seems to show that there are indeed hairs on the eyes, so I shall tentively mark this fly as S. torvus.



Many thanks for guiding me through this ID process, all of which I find fascinating.

Les

[Geoff F]

Just one more pointer in the E. latifasciatus/Syrphus department.

If you look clearly at the hairs on the abdomen edges of those last 2 photos, Les. On tergites 3 to 5 the hairs alternate between light and dark, like Syrphus; while E. latifasciatus has dark hair on all these tergite sides.

[Nettle Runner]

Thanks for the additional information, Geoff.
I still have a long way to go on my learning curve, but will be on the look out for more hoverflies to have another try.
Les