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28 December, Lancashire UK, just over 6mm.
I can't work out what genus this might belong to.

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Arista long haired, eyes haired, rows acrostichals, prealars seems absent.....
I personally think a Hebecnema.....maybe umbratica
But i have doubt...so wait for Stephane!

Joke

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Thanks Joke :). The Gallery could do with a female Hebecnema - let's see what Stephane makes of it.
I'm glad the pre-alar is absent - I thought it was just me that couldn't find it! Do female Hebecnemas all have that striking white lunula?

Stephen.

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Could be a Hebecnema in my opinion, an additional good character of the genus is the very flat frons, as if it had been hit by a hammer;).

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Thanks for the reinforcement, KWQ. Now I've looked at Hebecnema in Muscidae of Central Europe I think I can see why Joke was not quite sure. It would have to be umbratica or fumosa, and the parafacialia are visible in profile and dull grey, indicating umbratica, but the ocellar triangle is short, suggesting fumosa. The tibiae are all brownish (more obvious in a photo I haven't posted), but the ends of the femora are not contrastingly pale. It does sound as if the ocellar triangle thing is variable. I did have a look at the radial node, but I can't decide whether the black dots I see constitute setulae. I'll post the pics if anyone thinks it will help.

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I should like to submit in evidence this male Hebecnema photographed in the same place (within 25m) 11 days earlier. The brown infuscated wings seem consistent with H. umbratica, though it's a pity we can't see the halteres. The similarity of the wing venation to the female fly is very striking to me.

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Those Hebecnemas with infuscated wings tend to be H. vespertina at least in my collection. It is the commonest species of the genus in southern Finland.

Thus, if I had to guess, the lowest picture might be of that species while your original problem could well be umbratica, the striped mesonotum and transparent wings would support that. But I'm far from certain with these muscid pictures.

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Thanks KWQ. I do tend to jump to convenient conclusions :|

Stephen.

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Just as a footnote, I have been puzzled by an inconsistency in the description of H. vespertina in Muscidae of Central Europe: the description (p.155) says 'knob of halteres dark brown to black' but the key (p.59) (and all the pictures I have found in Forum Search) gives 'halteres with a yellow knob'. Shall I just change this line of the description in my copy?

Stephen.

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There has been in the past some confusion about the names.
I hope i did a right job to explain...:o

H.affinis (Malloch)= renamed into H.vespertina (Fallen 1823).. (with yellow haltares)
H.vespertina (Fallen 1823) with black haltares = renamed into H.nigra
So....affinis=vespertina with yellow haltares
And the H.vespertina with the black haltares= is now H.nigra
(someone has named a Hebecnema with black haltares as ..vespertina....and someone else also named a Hebecnema with yellow haltares first as affinis and later as ....vespertina!
Hope someone can follow it....:D

Joke van Erkelens

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Clear as mud :D. So the whole description probably applies to the old vespertina with black halteres which is now in H. nigra. Is any of it applicable to the new vespertina with yellow halteres which used to be H. affinis? At least the key is up to date!