A fly for ID..

[htcdude]

if indeed it is a fly, if it is, it's the koolest looking fly I've seen!

Any ideas?



Thanks!

Nige

[2dogs2000]

I think it is one of the fruit flies.

[JRsbugs]

Pallopteridae, Palloptera muliebris.

Janet

[2dogs2000]

Can you tell me how to separate picture wing flies from fruit flies as I have made a few incorrect suggestions for these lately? If I suggest fruit fly , it is a picture wing fly and vice versa.

[JRsbugs]

Not really, lol. It's just a matter of looking for a few years to become familiar with them.

One pointer could be the way picture wing flies hold their wings, but there's more than one family which does this.. another is Ulidiidae.

[Jason Green]

Evening all,

We're using rather vague terms here. Is the question along the lines of determining if an insect is to be generally called a Picture-winged Fly or a Fruit Fly - or separating these families from each other?

If it's the former then I find these terms to be used too interchangeably - best we stick to scientific family names such as Tephritid, Palopterid, etc. Fruit Flies often relate to Drosophilidae (which are in turn often called Vinegar Flies - particularly Drosophila spp.).

If you mean separating the families by identification then you could try narrowing it down by getting White's 1988 Royal Entomological Society key to British Tephritidae. It covers most of our relevant fauna but may not be particularly easy to obtain.

It's worth bearing in mind though, that the insect in question is from Pallopteridae - which are known as Flutter-wing Flies - a nod to the male's mating dance.

Take care,

Jason

[htcdude]

Thanks all for the input and info on the different species!

Nige

[2dogs2000]

Originally Posted by Jason Green

We're using rather vague terms here. Jason

That's me. Vague!

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by 2dogs2000

That's me. Vague!

I wouldn't worry too much about it, if you look back through old threads you will see that Jason always used common names not so long ago!

[Jason Green]

...and still do! My point is just that the terms P-WF and F-F are vague (used for more than one family) in themselves, not as a derision of anyone using them!