David Element
Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images
Flies 58 – Buttercup Blacklet Hoverflies
BUTTERCUP BLACKLET
HOVERFLY Cheilosia albitarsis (f)
·
The Buttercup Blacklet Hoverfly Cheilosia albitarsis is virtually identical in all respects to Doczkal’s
Blacklet Hoverfly C. ranunculi apart from the subtle
differences in shape of the black fifth (apical) segments of the front tarsi –
parallel-sided in C. albitarsis (as visible in the
photograph) and tapered towards the claws in C. ranunculi. Otherwise, the legs
are entirely black apart from the remaining pale segments of the front tarsi. Males
of both species possess hairs on their eyes, but those of the females are bare.
The halteres (invisible in the photograph) are orange. Both species have a
strong association with Buttercups Ranunculus spp., and they have only
recently been split into separate species. Cheilosia is a large
genus currently under scrutiny, and there may be modifications to the
classification of the predominantly small, black, and difficult to separate
hoverflies following genetic and morphological studies. Unless clear
photographs can be obtained of the front tarsi, or a specimen can be observed
under magnification, identification to genus is probably the most that can be
expected by anyone other than an expert dipterist.
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