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 Diptera Mimicry
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| Tony T |
Posted on 18-09-2007 19:39
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 Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
A new thread to bring together those flies that mimic other species of insects. This specimen gave me this idea, I would have bet it was an Hymenopteran See: Loxocera hoffmannseggi (Psilidae) It looks like it is mimicing an Ichneumonid. Edited by Tony T on 22-09-2007 20:49 |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 18-09-2007 22:16
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
See: Bumblebee mimic Portschinskia loewi (Oestridae: Hypodermatidae). Edited by Tony T on 22-09-2007 20:46 |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 19-09-2007 12:47
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
See: Bumblebee mimic Merodon equestris, Syrphidae, note the way wings held across abdomen, typical of bumblebees. Edited by Tony T on 22-09-2007 20:46 |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 19-09-2007 20:13
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
Several Syrphidae e.g., Temnostoma spp. such as T. bombylans and T. vespiforme mimic wasps, the latter species mimics Vespula and Dolichovespula spp. See: HERE Edited by Tony T on 22-09-2007 20:45 |
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| Tony Irwin |
Posted on 20-09-2007 00:19
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 Member Location: Norwich, England Posts: 7192 Joined: 19.11.04 |
I think for social wasp mimics, the tephritid genus Bactrocera takes some beating - see http://www.eppo.o...rocera.htm and http://commons.wi...rsalis.jpg Tony ---------- Tony Irwin |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 20-09-2007 01:54
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 Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
See: Vespa crabro mimic Milesia crabroniformis (Syrphidae) mimics Vespa crabro (Vespidae). Edited by jorgemotalmeida on 20-09-2007 02:03 |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 20-09-2007 19:24
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
This is a North American Physocephala sp. (Conopidae) that closely resembles a Potter Wasp (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae). In fact, when I first saw this fly on a flower I thought it was a Potter wasp. Length: 10.5mm excluding antennae. 19 September 2007, New Brunswick, Canada. Tony T attached the following image:  [52.53Kb] Edited by Tony T on 22-09-2007 20:42 |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 22-09-2007 17:08
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
Tabanidae, Hybomitra zonalis, female. 9 July 2005, NB, Canada. Length: range 14-18mm. Black and yellow banding is quite common in many insects and is thought to be seen as a warning pattern to vertebrate predators. Black & Yellow banding, of course, is the basic colour pattern of stinging wasps which presumably form the model for this and the other wasp mimics. Tony T attached the following image:  [27.77Kb] |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 22-09-2007 20:32
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
Solitary Bee mimic: Stratiomyidae > Stratiomys longicornis See: HERE Edited by Tony T on 22-09-2007 20:43 |
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| Alvesgaspar |
Posted on 22-09-2007 23:28
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 Member Location: Lisbon, Portugal Posts: 571 Joined: 24.08.07 |
Wasp like syrphidic: Ceriana vespiformis Please see here: http://commons.wi...2007-2.jpg Joaquim Gaspar Lisboa |
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| Alvesgaspar |
Posted on 22-09-2007 23:49
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Member Location: Lisbon, Portugal Posts: 571 Joined: 24.08.07 |
... and, of course, the "Drone-fly" (Eristalis tenax), whose model is the honey bee drone. In this photo the similarity is amazing: http://commons.wi...007-3a.jpg Joaquim Gaspar Lisboa Edited by Alvesgaspar on 23-09-2007 20:08 |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 22-09-2007 23:55
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Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
Alvesgaspar wrote: Wasp like syrphidic: Ceriana vespiformis Please see here: http://commons.wi...2007-2.jpg Joaquim Gaspar Lisboa C. vespiformis is very similar to Conops flavipes. But here it is convergent evolution, I think. Both mimic wasps. |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 23-09-2007 01:40
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Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
Sepsidae flies have an appearance similar to some ants. But I think this is another case of convergent evolution. Am I right? Anybody contests this assumption? Thank you. |
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| crex |
Posted on 23-09-2007 09:54
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 Member Location: Sweden Posts: 1996 Joined: 22.05.06 |
If I remember correctly some Tephritidae mimics Salticidae spiders!? |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 23-09-2007 15:59
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
jorgemotalmeida wrote: Sepsidae flies have an appearance similar to some ants. But I think this is another case of convergent evolution. Am I right? Anybody contests this assumption? Thank you. Anything that runs around on the ground or on leaves and looks like an aggressive venemous predator has my vote for a mimic. See: Sepsidae > Australosepsis cf. niveipennis : HERE Edited by Tony T on 23-09-2007 16:00 |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 23-09-2007 17:50
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
crex wrote: If I remember correctly some Tephritidae mimics Salticidae spiders!? Need a photo of a Rhagoletis from behind  According to Marshall "the wing-banding pattern....seen from behind.. makes the fly look remarkedly like a jumping spider (the bands look like spider legs)" Who wants to tangle with a jumping spider? Edit: Further reading indicates that the mimicry is to fool jumping spiders as these spiders are the major predators. "Greene et al. (1987) and Whitman et al. (1988) showed that Z. vittigera mimics jumping spiders and is significantly protected from these common predators on its host plant. During the fly's wing flicking displays, its wing pattern resembles the legs and the abdominal spots the eyes of a spider in its own territorial display." See: Reference here Edited by Tony T on 24-09-2007 13:54 |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 24-09-2007 01:41
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
Several Asilids in the genus Laphria are mimics of bumlebees, e.g., Asilidae > Laphria affinis (male) SEE: HERE |
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| crex |
Posted on 24-09-2007 15:28
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Member Location: Sweden Posts: 1996 Joined: 22.05.06 |
Crawfish mimicry? |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 24-09-2007 17:01
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Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
See: Salticidae jumping spider mimic Ceratitis capitata (Tephritidae) mimics Salticidae jumping spiders. Edited by jorgemotalmeida on 24-09-2007 17:05 |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 24-09-2007 21:45
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 662 Joined: 08.02.07 |
I think we can put this in the same league as the "Alligator Bug" (Homoptera: Fulgora laternaria), the head of which does look like an alligator and would be great mimicry apart from the discrepancy of habitat and size between the model and mimic  . |
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but don't see the image in the post.