French Guiana ← ChrisR ← Page 2

Siphosturmia sp. (French Guiana)

Oct

2010

These are 2 Siphosturmia spp. The first looks very like a Winthemia but on closer examination is has 4 katepisternal bristles, not 2. EDIT (05/10/2010): I am a little suspicious about the second specimen – I think I might have written the wrong name down because the humeral callus has a triangle of bristles, and ...

Pseudosiphona sp. (French Guiana)

Oct

2010

The Pseudosiphona look superficially like a Siphona but with a much shorter labrum. You should also be able to just make out the strong ventral bristle on the katepisternum. Det: Monty Wood, 2010.

Pseudochaeta sp. (French Guiana)

Oct

2010

Pseudochaeta is another of the Carcelia-type tachinids, with large eyes, but it also lacks the tuft of hairs on the hind coxa, present on Carcelia. It also has a strong row of facial-ridge bristles. EDIT (09/10/2010): I have found a second specimen virtually identical to this one from Peru. Det: Monty Wood, 2010.

Phytomyptera sp. (French Guiana)

Oct

2010

Det: Monty Wood, 2010.

Houghia sp. (French Guiana)

Oct

2010

Here are a few more Carcelia-like tachinids but this time belonging to the genus Houghia, which lacks the tuft of hairs on the hind coxa: Det: Monty Wood, 2010.

Hypotachina chrysophora (French Guiana)

Oct

2010

Det: Monty Wood, 2010.

Ervia sp. (French Guiana)

Oct

2010

Det: Monty Wood, 2010.

Crocinosoma sp. (French Guiana)

Oct

2010

Det: Monty Wood, 2010.

What a difference a day makes … 2

Oct

2010

Here I just wanted to show you how Chrysoexorista spp. loose their colour almost over night. This first photos show how the Chrysoexorista looked a few hours after it had been removed from the malaise trap alcohol and the last 3 show how it looks now:

Carcelia sp. (x2) (French Guiana)

Oct

2010

The genus Carcelia seems to be fairly ubiquitous around the world. The presence of the extremely deep eyes and very narrow strip of gena (the eye is at least 11x bigger than the gena) and the presence of a tuft of small hairs on the hind coxa is very distinctive. In the following photos the ...

a genus close to Borgmeiermyia (French Guiana)

Oct

2010

Det: Monty Wood, 2010

Anisia sp. (French Guiana)

Oct

2010

This genus is primarily a parasitoid of orthopterans. Det: Monty Wood, 2010.

Xanthomelanodes sp. (French Guiana)

Sep

2010

One of the commonest phasiine genera – note the strong divergent lateral scutellars. Determination by Monty Wood.

Winthemia sp. (French Guiana)

Sep

2010

Apparently Winthemia are pretty much the same the world over – 2 katepisternals with hairy parafacials. Determination by Monty Wood.

Zelia sp. (French Guiana & Costa Rica)

Sep

2010

This is a huge genus containing many superficially dissimilar species. Determination by Monty Wood.

Thelairodoria (French Guiana)

Sep

2010

Determination by Monty Wood.

Uramya (French Guiana)

Sep

2010

Uramya is one of the genera where the males have very long ‘tails’ … sadly this is a female! Determination by Monty Wood.

Neomintho macilenta (French Guiana)

Sep

2010

This genus is related to the multi-fissicorn genera, like Cryptocladocera & Cerotachina (all members of the Neominthoini but most do not have multi-fissicorn antennae) . This species is distinguished by having a completely black T5. Determination by Monty Wood.

Pennapoda & Xanthomelanodes sp. (French Guiana & Bolivia)

Sep

2010

Pennapoda & Xanthomelanodes are very commonly caught genera – being part of a group of very similar phasiine genera with shaded a costa and often with orange abdominal patches. Pennapoda closely related to the genus Trichopoda and both have leaf-like antero-dorsal bristles on the hind tibia, to a greater or lesser extent. Determination by Monty ...

Leskia sp. (French Guiana & Ecuador)

Sep

2010

Leskia is a diverse and quite common genus. Determinations by Monty Wood.

Tachinid Recording News

Tachinids that look like Eriothrix rufomaculata August 18, 2019
Eriothrix rufomaculata is an incredibly common fly in mid-summer, especially on any flowery meadows. The species is very easy to identify from the red abdominal side-patches, silvery face with projecting mouth edge, long costal spine, slightly shaded wings with a small petiole on the median vein. The only problem is that several other, rarer, […]
A quick guide to the new UK phasiines August 17, 2019
This year we have been lucky enough to receive records for 2 new species to the UK – Ectophasia crassipennis & Phasia aurigera. These both bear a resemblance to Phasia hemiptera and have been confused with them in the past so I thought I’d put together a few pointers on how to spot them. […]
How to split Tachina fera type tachinids in photos August 17, 2019
One of the most difficult problems is how to confirm/verify the identification of photos of flies that look quite like Tachina fera. I’d include in that group any of the following species: Tachina fera, Tachina magnicornis, Nowickia ferox, Linnaemya vulpina, Peleteria rubescens, Peleteria iavana & male Nemoraea pellucida. They’re all fairly large, bristly flies […]
Dexiosoma caninum vs Dexia vacua August 6, 2019
I always find that one of the hardest identifications to make from photos is the split between Dexiosoma caninum and the much rarer Dexia vacua. Dexia vacua is so rare that many experts thought that it was extinct in Western Europe so getting good, reliable records from photos is very important because it seems […]
Thelyconychia solivaga January 23, 2015
Recently I have been working on adding a new species to the British list to our key. Thelyconychia solivaga is a small tachinid that seems to live on fairly stony/rocky coastal sites and is very rare in the UK – in fact only 3 specimens have been found so far (by Laurence Clemons in Kent […]