Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Fly with a red abdomen
Posted by Pegasus-wtal on 23-05-2008 22:54
#1
Hello, I found this fly yesterday and as I could not find it in my insect book, I searched the Internet and finally found this beautiful website.
The fly was trapped in a house near a wood, here in Wuppertal, Germany. It was about 250mm long. The reason why I found it so remarkable was it's red abdomen.
This specimen was not shy at all. I took it home, placed it in a glass cage usually used for spiders and made photos through the glass.
Then I removed the front glass, risking that it flew away. To my astonishment, it remained on the stone inside the cage. So I made some more photos.
The fly didn't even escape when I poked my fingers inside the cage to turn the stone so that it showed a more photogenic side.
Finally I went outside, removed the stone with the fly from the cage and placed it on the floor. Still it didn't not fly away. Instead it slowly walked away into a dark corner of the garden.
Can anyone tell me what kind of fly that was ? Thanks a lot for your help !!
Posted by Andre on 23-05-2008 23:12
#2
This is Brachypalpoides lentus, female. A very beautiful fly indeed, belonging to the family Syrphidae. It has it's larvae in dead wood.
Posted by Susan R Walter on 27-05-2008 19:17
#3
Pegasus-wtal - it would be nice if you uploaded this image to the gallery - especially the top one, as it shows golden dusting on the thorax. Tristanba's images in the gallery don't show this - presumably they are a more worn specimen and yours is fresher.
Posted by Pegasus-wtal on 27-05-2008 19:57
#4
Of course I can add some pictures of that to the gallery.
I have made about 170 photos of that one, and it seems that it depends on the angle of view wether you can see the golden dusting or not.
I will upload the one where the golden dusting is most visible tomorrow.
Posted by Andre on 27-05-2008 20:23
#5
The golden 'dusting' sure doesn't look natural to me.
Posted by Pegasus-wtal on 27-05-2008 20:41
#6
Hi Andre,
This "Golden Dusting" is not something like pollen.
The hairs on the thorax have this golden colour. Here's a zoom of that area:
Edited by Pegasus-wtal on 27-05-2008 20:47
Posted by Susan R Walter on 28-05-2008 21:38
#7
Andr? - not being familiar with this fly, I looked at the pics and thought the gold was either dusting or pubescence intermingled with longer dark hairs - rather as the close up reveals. Now that I have looked it up, I note that Stubbs does not mention this character in his description at all, nor is it indicated in the illustration in British Hoverflies. However, there is a trace of similar gold if you look closely at Tristanba's images in the gallery. Perhaps these hairs are like Pollenia's and wear off very quickly.