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3mm - Berlin - May 2018

I really don't know where to place it. I think that it resembles members of Lonchaeidae. I know nothing about alot of families of diptera.

Thank you for your time.

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Yes you are quite correct its Lonchaeidae - looks like a female Lonchaea spp.

Iain

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Thank you, Sir. I appreciate your time and expertise. I am happy to know that this is Lonchaeidae and it is wonderful of you to suggest a genus. Thank you.

She is a very lovely fly. I found her walking around on my kitchen window. She didn't want to pose for the camera. so i couldn't make spectacular photos. :)

The fly appears to shimmer blue at different angles. Very pretty.

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Dear Iain, I've tried keying this using your material. I arrive at Lonchaea germanica but this is a female and i am not sure if it is possible to key a female. I wonder if i need dna to identify this species?

I'll attach some microscopic photos if it helps.

Thank you for your time.

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lateral depicting calypters, haltere and any thing else useful

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i think that these are the 12 hairs that you refer to in your keys. please correct me if i am wrong.

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eyes are bare supporting Lonchaea.

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palpi seem rather large

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arista

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tarsus are yellow at the base

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ovipositor if it helps

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hi John and Nini
well done for trying the key! Lonchaeids are not the easiest group to try - especially the females - but your photographs are a great help. The one thing you got wrong were the 12 setae they are a bit difficult to see and are situated lower and nearer the head. Anyway from your photos i think this Lonchaea tarsata a species with only 1 seta on the proepimeron. its widespread but not too common in Europoe

best wishes .......... Iain

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I should've posted more photos. I am sorry for the error. I had trouble seeing certain areas. My microscope cannot produce nice photos, so i use my old lcd microscope to make most photos. The old microscope struggles with glare. Anyway, this fly is very dark and i find it difficult to see certain areas.

I usually make mistakes the first time i use keys. Your keys are new to me and this is my first Lonchaeidae sp. I now know what to look for and how to dissect it. I will do a better job next time.

I tried again today to make better photos. Today i was able to photograph the anterior spiracle, proepimeron and stigmatic bristles. I also dissected the ovipositor but it didn't go so well. my micro-scissors are much too large for such a small structure. I looked at surgical scissors last year but the price is over 500euro. I'm not paying that much for scissors. I decided to try a thin needle and a scalpel for small ovipositors. I got it partially opened but the handling damaged the parts. I'm sorry for not doing a better job with this one. I'll attach photos.

I thank you for helping. I truly appreciate you. Please let me know if you wish to use any photos on your site. I will be happy to contribute.

I'll add more photos now. I hope that you have a pleasant day,
John

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anterior spiracle. I finally got it in view and made a decent photo of it.

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3

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one stigmatic bristle

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5

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ovipositor. like i said, i had to use a small needle and a scalpel to open it up. The ovipositor narrows which makes it difficult for my needle to reach the apex. I didn't do a good job this time. sorry.

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looks a bit like snakeskin to me.

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spermathecae? i cannot achieve a higher magnification. I see three of these objects, so i assume spermathecae.