Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Lispe tentaculata, male and female?

Posted by Sundew on 22-08-2020 23:32
#1

Hi,
Yesterday I watched two small grey flies at a small artificial pond. The spatulate palps disclosed genus Lispe. The male, who had two mutilated legs, showed peculiar front basitarsi, so I think L. tentaculata should be the right species. The female was more difficult to identify, as the characters given in Nikita's key (https://www.resea...on_ecology) did not completely match. Nevertheless I tend to consider the female fly as the same species. Do you see any serious contradictions? It is my first Lispe, so I am grateful for any help! The location was southwestern Germany, 20 km west of Stuttgart.
Thanks, Sundew

Here comes the male:

Posted by Sundew on 22-08-2020 23:32
#2

More pictures of the male:

Posted by Sundew on 22-08-2020 23:33
#3

This is the female:

Posted by Sundew on 22-08-2020 23:33
#4

And more female pics (the last picture shows her preying on a cicada on the water surface):

Edited by Sundew on 22-08-2020 23:35

Posted by Nikita Vikhrev on 25-08-2020 08:16
#5

Dear Claudia, they are all L. tentaculata both males and females.
Femles have median pruinose patch at level of 2nd and 3rd post dc more or less distinct. Also 3rd and 4th post dc clearly approximated. Also stront medialn dc on f3 is visible.
(Sometimes median pruinose patch is absent in females tentaculata, for this reason I made separete key fo rsuch females in Vikhrev (2011: Vikhrev N.E. (2011) Review of the Palaearctic members of the Lispe tentaculata species-group (Diptera, Muscidae): revised key, synonymy and notes on ecology. ZooKeys 84: 59-70. )But afterawards decide do not that.

Edited by Nikita Vikhrev on 25-08-2020 08:17

Posted by Sundew on 25-08-2020 15:25
#6

Many thanks for the detailed answer, dear Nikita! Now that I know the genus I will hopefully find more species. Apparently I've underestimated the small grey ones so far...