Diptera.info

Posted by Juergen Peters on 12-09-2010 22:02

Hello!

My fifth Phasia species in our garden (northwest Germany) in the last weeks, and my first P. aurigera this year :D (plus hemiptera, obesa, barbifrons and aurulans). I'm also always happy, when a Mintho rufiventris visits me.

Edited by Juergen Peters on 12-09-2010 22:05

Posted by ChrisR on 12-09-2010 22:05

Yes, nice shots - Phasia aurigera (male) and a nice Mintho - I wish I saw either species :)

Posted by Jeroen K on 13-09-2010 11:11

I seem to have a small population of Mintho rufiventris in my garden. Since the second week of July I saw each day a couple of them flying around and resting on a birch.

Posted by ChrisR on 13-09-2010 12:49

That's interesting - here they are found very rarely and usually with catches scattered around the south of England, hardly ever being caught in the same area in successive years. I guess the population here just isn't high enough to allow for population movement - so they appear randomly.

Edited by ChrisR on 13-09-2010 12:50

Posted by Juergen Peters on 13-09-2010 19:46

Hi, Chris!

ChrisR wrote:
That's interesting - here they are found very rarely and usually with catches scattered around the south of England, hardly ever being caught in the same area in successive years. I guess the population here just isn't high enough to allow for population movement - so they appear randomly.

Here I also find most of them in a small area around a big common hornbeam tree in the garden. Other findings are much less regular.

Posted by Jaakko on 14-09-2010 12:34

Hi,

Ph. aurigera is incredibly common here in Hessen at the moment, visiting especially Solidago blossoms. Should I put a couple aside for you Chris? It was a new species for me as well! I also managed to find 1m1f Ph. aurulans. This is a common species back home, so it was funny to see a pair among the gigantic aurigera.

I recently saw also a couple of Minthos resting on the wall just above my front door. Were too high to catch.. Too bad, I have managed to collect two, although seeing much more. Never seen one on a collecting trip! One should carry a net when taking carbage out, going shopping or biking to work...

Posted by ChrisR on 14-09-2010 13:00

#10

Hi Jaakko - that's very good of you - yes please!! :D Considering how common they are supposed to be in mainland Europe it's odd that I have absolutely no Phasia aurigera in the collection - and just one Mintho rufiventris too!

I am still waiting to see whether either Phasia aurigera or Ectophasia crassipennis makes it across the Channel to southern England ... it will happen one day, I am sure, and it would be nice to have a decent series to show people what to expect and how they compare to Phasia hemiptera :)

Posted by Juergen Peters on 17-09-2010 17:38

#11

Hi, Chris!

ChrisR wrote:
I am still waiting to see whether either Phasia aurigera or Ectophasia crassipennis

I'm also waiting for Ectophasia here in northwest Germany. Very common in other parts of Germany, but never saw one here in our region... :|