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Hi, I'm affraid this small Tachinidae is member of hopeless genus starting with S :(

Jari

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From Loviisa, Finland today.

Jari

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Nice fly - can we see the top side of the wings? :)
Also, a dorsal shot of the body would be nice :)

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Yes, but tomorrow. The fly is in acetone just now. I was allmost sure it's a Siphona and know they are "mission impossible" so I didn't take more pictures. :|

Jari

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Well, there doesn't seem to be a hinged proboscis so it can't be a Siphona sp. but it could still be a siphonine tachinid :)

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Here You are :D

Jari

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Hmm, nice photos :) but I think this is going to have to wait for Theo - it doesn't remind me of anything :( The hairs on rm; orange legs and rounded antennae should be good clues :)

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Well, let me think out loud. It is clearly a Actiini (Siphonini if you like).
The lower sternopleural bristle is strong, the Cu vein seems to reach the wing margin and it is not Peribaea, since the characteristic downward bristle on pleura is missing. Nor Siphona, since the proboscis is short.
So it must be Ceranthia (in broad sense, I include Aphantorhaphopsis).

Theo

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Sorry, need more space. We can't see the palpi, nor the number of DC bristles on thorax.
The shape of the third antennal segment, however, clearly indicates
Ceranthia lichtwardtiana male.

So, that is would it should be

Theo

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Wow, thank You ! I must take better pictures with more details in future :)

Jari

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Thanks for the explanation Theo - I actually confirmed two of these for a friend here earlier in the year, so I should have remembered, but they are so rare in the UK :)

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They are probably not so rare, just only seen in malaisetraps.


Theo

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Maybe they are hunting in the dark like Ceromya silacea. A night flyer B)

Jari

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Hello there!

Excellent forum you have here. Sorry for digging up an old message for my first posting.



I agree with Ceranthia. Aphantorhaphopsis spp. should lack lateral marginal bristles on T1+2, which are clearly present on this one. However, C. lichtwardiana to my knowledge should have large lateral yellow regions on abdomen. C. tenuipalpis has similar coloration, but male antenna are different, like Dr. Zeegers pointed out.

However, I would like to be a bit brave and suggest the following:
Ceranthia tristella Herting 1966.

According to Andersens Siphonini-book, the male antenna 3 should be oval to subcircular, like in lichtwardiana, abdomen wholly black, tergites dorsally with grayish-white pollisose with blackish hind-margins. T1+2 thinly pollinose. The pollinosity seems bit yellowish here, but the colour is usually not very stable feature in tachinids.

Comments?

The species would be new to Finland, so needs confirmation. Jari finding it from Loviisa wouldn't surprise me though! He seems to have quite nice places there in the south coast. B) He for instance got Halidaya aurea new to Finland couple of years ago!

All the best,

Jaakko Pohjoism?ki

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I've collected C. lichtwardiana by sweeping during the day and the known hosts are not particularily night active. These small tachinids are just damn hard to find among all other flies. Malaise traps seem to be great in collecting them and many might not be as rare as they appear. I got some C. tenuipalpis from malaise trap that is basicly on the most boring, average ruderate ground ever. The previous ones in my collection, on the other hand, are from a nice chalk-land coppice with Tilia, Corylus and other (in Finnish terms) exotic stuff.

I have a bit the feeling that tachinds are overrepresented in malaise material compared to other diptera families.

Jaakko

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So Theo, any comments for this :o

Jari

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Jaakko, interesting observation.
(And please call me Theo, I feel 1 year older every time you use Dr. Zeegers).
I was already quite happy I could get to lichtwardtiana based on the antennal shape. Identifying Tachinids from pictures, I do not consider very rare species (unless unmistakable ones as Therobia). Aberrations of common species are more common than really rare species. So I always ask to see these species 'life'.
Nevertheless, you are quite right that tristella fits better.
I'm happy to have a look at it, if Jari is too.


Theo

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Yes, no problem. Please send Your address with personal mail and You will see it :D

Jari

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Ok, my pleasure!

It will be interesting to hear what this bug turns out to be! There's around 300 tachinids on the Finnish check-list, many obvious ones still missing. I've got three Phryxe magnicornis candidates for this year as new to Finland (unconfirmed), otherwise quite bad... cold and wet. Also too little time, too big of a country. :|

All the best,

Jaakko

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Phryxe magnicornis are always nice to find - here in the UK they're fairly rare. They are pretty easy to confirm from genitalia if they are males and in general they usually have pale/brown abdomenal side-patches and quite a distinct orange-bordered scutellum... from memory. :)

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So, I got the specimen today and guess what: it got clavate palps !
I excluded that option, though it could not be seen in the pic, because of the antennal shape. However, I clearly overlooked the possibility of

Ceranthia verralli male.

And that is exactly what it is.

Rare northern species, mentioned by Andersen only once for Finland.

So again a big congratulations.


Theo

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Oh, and please correct the title of the thread.

Otherwise, my mistake will hunt me for ages.


Theo

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Thank You :D:D:D

Jari