Diptera.info

Posted by nick upton on 26-06-2012 08:50

I came across this beefly yesterday feeding on Hogweed in a chalk grassland site in Wiltshire and knew it was one I hadn't seen in the UK so took a lot of photos. I'm pretty sure it's a Villa sp. and read that the only species regularly recorded in the UK is Villa modesta, but only from coastal sand dunes. From the habitat this is more likely to be Villa venusta or Villa cingulata, the only other UK Villa sp. and both are very rare from what i can discover. I know Villa are tricky but is it possible to ID the species? I have many more shots if specific angles/details are needed, but offer several here. The white marks on the base of the wings was very clear in head on views. It looms like a very fresh specimen so hope the pattern of hair tufts on the abdomen will help.

10mm Wiltshire chalk grassland 25.6.12

Edited by nick upton on 27-02-2013 17:25

Posted by mossnisse on 26-06-2012 10:35

Try to use Falck, M. (2009). The Norwegian species of Villa.
http://biolitt.biofokus.no/rapporter/nje/56-2/NJE-vol56-nr2-Falck.pdf
Im not suprised if there are more species in UK even if Bombylids like the sun.

Posted by nick upton on 26-06-2012 11:19

Many thanks Mossnisse for this useful key. Based on it and some other feedback I've had, I think it's most likely to be V. cingulata as the wing pattern is apparently wrong for V. venusta (which has a broader dark stripe on the leading edge of the wing) and the key suggests cingulata is more cleaarly banded (thiugh that's not clear from images...) and I think the much shorter hairs than bristles on the hind tibia suggest cingulata (though i'm not used to using keys...) Also modesta is really a coastal dune species and this is a long way inland on grassland.

Posted by kitenet on 04-07-2012 10:10

Villa cingulata has been increasing in the UK in recent years, and is usually found on chalk grassland. Although Villa are not easy to identify from photos (nor from specimens sometimes!) I can't see anything in these excellent photos to suggest that it's not this species.

It's a good record, and I'd appreciate receiving the details in due course for the recording scheme that covers these flies, see:
http://www.dipteristsforum.org.uk/t12-Larger-Brachycera-recording-scheme.html

Thanks to mossnisse for the link to Falck 2009, I hadn't seen that before.

Posted by nick upton on 04-07-2012 20:23

Many thanks Martin. I went back a couple of days later and saw 10 or so around on the same hogweed clump.... so there's a little Villa ?cingulata? colony happily living in Wiltshire and they're not recorded there on NBN, though there may be other records. I took 2 specimens which I think are a male and a female and they are in my freezer awaiting conformation by an expert. David Gibbs has offered to ID them if I can bring them to an Amateur Entsoc meeting in the winter, but I can't guarantee to make it as I travel a lot. If you'd be happy to have a look if I sent them, the ID might be confirmed sooner. If you could , please contact me through this site. I can send you site location details also. I am away from home at the mo and have irregular email acess, so may be slow to react to any response.

Posted by David Dexter on 15-11-2016 09:14

#10

I have read with interest this thread, and was reminded of a photo I took back in July this year, taken at Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire. Would this also be Villa cingulata?

Edited by David Dexter on 15-11-2016 09:17