A few hoverflies, a wasp and a beetle for Id

[rowanalder]

Hi everyone.

Just got a few specimens that need identifying and confirming. If anyone can help?

1. Syrphus ribesii?



2. Episyrphus balteatus?



3. Unsure on these ones.



4.



5.



6. Sorry about the quality of this one. It was very small around 3mm in length and a reddish brown colour.



Cheers,

Ro

[Anomalous]

Hi

1. A Syrphus, but cannot do species.
2. Episyrphus balteatus, yes.
3. Eupeodes corollae
4. Not a fly...unsure.
5. A Soldierfly (Stratiomyidae)
6. No idea!

Hopefully others will fill in the gaps.

Ian

[Jason Green]

Hi Ro,

4 is an Ichneumon (specialist group; try http://www.brc.ac.uk/downloads/ichne...family_key.pdf) and 6 an atypical ladybird - Rhyzobius sp. You really need to get a side-view and examine the ventral-margin to the pronotum to know which direction you'll probably be in - litura or rare chrysomeloides.

Just to offer my advice on pinning; when you get your pins, you can always use A3 with images 4 and 5. With practice you can use the same on 6 too; base of the right elytron and placed spaced equally from the pronotal margin as it is to the longitudinal suture. Whether you eventually micro-pin or card-up the beetle you may prefer to relax the specimen before adjusting the legs - one week in an air-tight container with watered sand or vinegar-soaked tissue with the specimen hopefully to keep dry would be great. Without prior relaxation you're only really safe to adjust legs within the first hour of removal from the KJ - minor tweaking is still OK about 24hrs later - but after that they dry-out and become prone to snapping and breakage.

Good luck with your studies!

[rowanalder]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the info and Id's.


I do most of my specimens just after I have killed them I will have to get myself a relaxing jar since I have a few specemins that are not set right.
Whats the "best practice" for pinning flies, bees and wasps? Should the wings be left as they are or spread like butterflies and moths are?

Cheers,

Ro

[Jason Green]

Most entomologists have their own ways of curating their vouchers; some set - some don't and just pin straight-off. I set mine; it takes between five and seven minutes each (with practice) but means you don't have to worry about legs or wings setting awkwardly and obscuring themselves or other parts. The methods that follow are mine or based on ideas I've been given - they aren't used by all, and all are carried out when directly pinning or staging as opposed to carding. Before I go over each order and how I set them, I'll cover the setting boards I make and use.

Setting-boards (for winged-insects, use flat cork for bugs/beetles, etc.):

All those below are cork-based for taking the insect-carrying-pin. The frame around the edge varies, and the top surface carries the underside of the wings to keep them up. If not, they'll droop and make examination of the thorax's side very difficult! I make mine by hand, and in three sizes...

Small - two layers of 200gsm, 14mm square with an 8x5mm recess for the specimen. Suitable for Sphecids, lonchopterids, sepsids, dolichopodids - you get the idea!

Medium - two 'blocks' of card, 2-ply cereal-packet card 15mm long and about 1.4mm thick - spaced 7mm apart (where the insect goes longitudinally) This takes most hoverflies, pompilids, andrenids, halictids, etc.

Large - two 'blocks' of card, 2-ply recycled board (on the back of most paper-pads) 15mm long and spaced 10mm apart. Takes larger Megachilids, hoverflies such as Volucella, large sawflies, etc.

Flies:
Wings out-stretched with the leading-edges set at 90' to the body and in-line with each other. The fore-legs are drawn forwards as are the mid-legs, stretching out under the base of the wings. The hind-legs are stretched out and lay diagonally from the point of attachment. If the mouthparts are extruded then lay the head on it's side if you can to allow them to remain out. Occasionally I think parts of this are used. Ensure the halteres are extended, and not covering the calypteres/squamulae!

Hymenoptera:
Front legs are laid diagonally and drawn forward - careful they don't obstruct the gena! Mid and hind legs are drawn back, though keep them diagonal and out-stretched so's not to cover abdominal sternites and hair colours. Ideally the hind-wings should be 'connected' to the forewings by making use of the naturally-occuring velcro-like spines that are used as such in flight. The wings once connected should be slid forwards until the wing-tips are further towards the head than the tegulae - effectively almost diagonal, and mirror-imaging each other. Tilt the head slightly to look to the right, then prop the mandibles open (not important with sawflies) using micro-pins or for larger stuff - E3-size. Mandibular-dentition is often useful. Ants - just card-up or card-point.

Hemipterans:
Hind legs are diagonally-positioned and drawn backwards. Mid-legs are bent at the 'knee' which points forwards and the rest of the leg drawn back too. Fore-legs are drawn forwards and the tarsi should be diagonal to the tip of the tibia, then the antennae bent slightly at the base of each segment - more often than not the last segments run parrallel to the fore-tarsi. Keep the rostrum underneath if you can - this is often important when compared to the coxae-reach.

Lacewings:
Set butterfly-style; don't worry too much about the legs, just ensure the antennae are lined-up so's to run parallel to the leading-edge of the fore-wings - it's sometimes compared in terms of comparative length.

The other day, I took a series of photos of each stage of setting both a bug, and a Sphecid - I'll upload them if it may help make things clearer.

As I said, it's worth remembering that everyone probably do things slightly differently, and if a particular method doesn't work for you then modify it. The most important thing is that you can identify them! the way I do things works for me, having tried other methods and found this makes it quicker, makes me more confident with each identification and I have no difficult/hesitational moments in setting to work with each specimen - it sort of feels 'natural'! Good luck, whichever method you end up using. Try several, ask around - and see where your natural methodology lies. Don't get too caught-up in setting-collecting - set-aside time to build an infinity with your specimens, get a 'feel' for them - the identification is the most important part - but setting or straight-forward pinning helps you get there.

[Klaas Reißmann]

Jason is right with the genus Rhyzobius. The photo is not very well, but good enough to say it is R. chrysomeloides.

@ Jason

I'm not to sure if R. chrysomeloides is such a rarity in the UK. Maybe it is only by wrong methods of surching!?

Regards
Klaas

[rowanalder]

Thanks Guys,

I will put this info into practice with a few more specemins that I've just collected whilst being on holiday in the South.

I managed to get a few of the setting boards a couple of years ago from an insect show. Yes that would be useful if you uploaded a few pics of set insects cheers.

R. chrysomeloides would be great, I don't think that either of these species have been recorded on the site I found it on. Is it that chrysomeloides is just under recorded in the UK?

Once I have these specemins sorted I will post a few up on here, just run a couple through some keys, still haveing a bit of difficulty mainly with tiny differences such as differences in the lines on the elytra.

Cheers again,

Ro

[Jason Green]

Originally Posted by rowanalder

R. chrysomeloides would be great, I don't think that either of these species have been recorded on the site I found it on. Is it that chrysomeloides is just under recorded in the UK?

I suspect so - but I suppose it's difficult to say unless anyone find an 'odd' litura in their collections pre-dating 1999 or so when it was first added to our list. It's also not the easiest to determine - instantly do-able by anyone having extracted the genitalia, or showing someone who has experience with both species. Once you've seen chrysomeloides though, you'll recognise it as such in the beating-tray. Since then I discovered it twice at a nearby site!

Originally Posted by rowanalder

Once I have these specemins sorted I will post a few up on here, just run a couple through some keys, still haveing a bit of difficulty mainly with tiny differences such as differences in the lines on the elytra.

Would this be longitudinal/transverse striations, or whether punctures are uniform or randomly-placed? They were my issues.

I'm a bit busy at the moment, but will put up the photos soon. Great to hear you're starting keying too!

[rowanalder]

Thanks Jason,

I will post up another picture of the Ladybird, this time from a side view if this will help to confirm which species it is.

Yes along with many other problems mainly the very small differences between species. I was using the Richmand key by Trevor Forsythe but I have just bought a copy of the RES key to ground beetles and i'm having more problems just need a little more practice with it all.

Cheers,

Ro

[Jason Green]

The pronotum (specimen placed head-on) showing entirely would be good.

Photos coming still, but I've been rather set-back by having to re-lael a few hundred specimens + sexing them. Nightmare job, but an essential part of collecting - the need for accurate records, reliable catch/determination data and writing legible such that when I pass it on one day (upon death...), those who inherit it will be able to read my writing!