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Zambia Tachinidae Blepharella
Date 31.i.11. Size 10mm
Miombo Woodland. Location: at window
Blepharella have interesting iridescent hairs/scales which lose their metallic green/blue colours on drying. There are many described species, in need of revision.
See here for a further discussion
http://www.dipter...d_id=21401
and here for a photo of a live individual
http://www.dipter...d_id=24923

Steve

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Wow - very impressive fly - does the colour come back if you wash it in ethanol or acetone? With Chloroexorista they say that you can temporarily restore the colour by washing the specimen, but I haven't been very successful with this technique :(

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I am going to try that technique with this specimen - I have had some success with tabanid eye-bands where again the colours disappear in dried specimens. Oldroyd and others used a very toxic Mercury solution to achieve the effect :S

Steve

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I suppose it really depends whether the colours have been lost due to grease modifying the iridescence patters on the dusting/hairs or whether the colours have actually been reduced/oxidized.

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The colour on this specimen certainly faded within a day or two in the same way Tabanid eyes lose their iridescence -so grease isn't the main issue initially.