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I am new to muscids and the like, and would welcome a pointer to this small fly (5mm) taken 5 March on forest edge in N Scotland.

Murdo

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Just to expand on what is not a very good pic, I reckon from Fonseca that it is Coenosiinae, and it seemed to slip neatly through to Lispocephala, but then I got lost. It seems to have 2 ad on the hind tibia, and the antennae are reddish at the base and the palps all reddish. Arista short-haired, costal spine short, abdomen grey, with 3 pairs of spots on tergites 3-5, scutellum with two dark spots. Hind tibia with the stronger anterior setulae, tarsus 5 all dark, and no tuft of bristles on sternite 5. If you have kept up, that takes me to the very unlikely L. pallipalpis, so if anyone can suggest where I have gone wrong, I will be grateful.

M.

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Just to add some more, the eyes are very shortly and sparsely hairy, there are 2 pairs of pre-sutural acr and dc, and 3 pairs of post-sutural dc.

M.

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From what I can see on the picture it is a male Lispocephala from the alma group. Maybe you can check the colour of the last tarsomere of the front leg?

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I agree. To be IDed from genitalia and front tarsi.

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Thanks for that. I am glad I was not too far off on my first attempt at that subfamily!

The last tarsal segments are completely dark dorsally up to the basal set of bristles. Possibly a hint of reddish above that point.

What are the genitalia characters I need to see?

M.

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Cercal plate to begin, then parameres.

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The end of the story is that I was right all along! This is L. pallipalpis, confirmed from the specimen by Steven Falk. This was previously unknown from anywhere near N Scotland, and is rare in S England - hence my initial doubts. Another male (I have found 3 in total) that I took a few days later is in the NMS in Edinburgh.

M.

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Great ! If you find other specimens, please think about me. ;)