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 Mating Flies on Cactus, Arizona, United States
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| Stephen |
Posted on 07-08-2006 22:43
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 Member Location: West Virginia USA Posts: 1322 Joined: 12.04.05 |
I photographed these two flies in early morning in early May. The place was the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona, USA. I didn't get a measurement. The photo had some technical problems so I have delayed posting it. Finally today I worked on it some and here it is. Are they Syrphids? As always, thanks for the ID help with these! Stephen attached the following image:  [66.18Kb] --Stephen Stephen Cresswell www.americaninsects.net |
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| Tony Irwin |
Posted on 08-08-2006 01:01
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 Member Location: Norwich, England Posts: 7336 Joined: 19.11.04 |
Yes, they're syrphids, and such a cute pair!  They are in the genus Copestylum, which includes a number of species associated with decaying cacti. The long, downward-pointing face is reminiscent of Volucella (very familiar to European dipterists), and some species of Copestylum were originally placed in that genus. Edited by Tony Irwin on 08-08-2006 08:18 Tony ---------- Tony Irwin |
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| Stephen |
Posted on 08-08-2006 10:10
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Member Location: West Virginia USA Posts: 1322 Joined: 12.04.05 |
Tony, thanks for your help with this one. I had suspected they might be desert-specific, but didn't have any evidence. Nice to get an ID.
--Stephen Stephen Cresswell www.americaninsects.net |
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| Gerard Pennards |
Posted on 08-08-2006 10:24
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 Member Location: Amersfoort Posts: 1914 Joined: 07.06.04 |
Yep, Tony is quite right. This could be Copestylum isabellina, which is known from decaying cacti. There is a picture of a female depositing her eggs on a cactus on Bugguide. Btw, there more you go south in the Americas, the more species of Copestylum you will find. There are a few hundred species in South America, of which a lot of them are until now undescribed by science! greetings, Greetings, Gerard Pennards |
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| Stephen |
Posted on 08-08-2006 10:42
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Member Location: West Virginia USA Posts: 1322 Joined: 12.04.05 |
Thanks, Gerard. Moments before you wrote I had posted the image at BugGuide to see if anyone from the western US recognized the species. I too, paused at C. isabellina at BugGuide! Thanks again for your help with these flies.
--Stephen Stephen Cresswell www.americaninsects.net |
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