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Hello,

I've found this small bombyllids sometimes not really that often. They are about 7-8mm long and fly around flowers in sudden movements, I mean, more sudden than those of B. major :)
They did not seem to have any problems with the photographer but even so the photographer had real problems to get them this small and fast and setting down only in flowers beatten hard by the wind!

Agriculture field, Portugal center, 2005-04-28

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Another angle

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This has some of the characters of Bombylella atra, but I'm not familiar with the species and could be completely wrong. ;) Best wait for David to be sure!

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One thing I forgot to say is about wing venation, I don't know why, the photo is not that fuzzy but I can't make out completly the wing venation!
Even in the full size photo it is not clear!
I don't remember such from when I shot the photo, but maybe the wings are partly clouded or lightly coloured.

We'll wait :)

thanks

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i would also go with Bombylella atra, a small, worn female, but i cannot be 100% confident

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What characters would confirm B. atra?

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fresh well marked individuals have a distinctive pattern of white spots on the abdomen mid-dorsally and lateraly but these cannot be seen from the angle of the photos and anyway can be worn off.