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 Microsania pectipennis? August 02, 2007
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| Dmitry Gavryushin |
Posted on 02-08-2007 16:27
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 Member Location: Posts: 3303 Joined: 17.10.05 |
This morning I left to collect some food plants for caterpillars. It started to rain soon, and I was soaking wet, so I decided to kindle a bonfire to dry myself a bit and, hopefully, try to catch some Microsania. It took an empty cigarette box and two 10-Ruble notes to start a fire, I'm definitely not a good scout. The fire burned for an hour or so, Microsania came when it's almost extinguished and there was a lot of smoke. In 5 or 10 minutes I caught 2 males and 1 female (?), and then it was over. No swarming of course, just random sweeping near the fire. Size around 2 mm. |
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| Dmitry Gavryushin |
Posted on 02-08-2007 16:28
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Member Location: Posts: 3303 Joined: 17.10.05 |
Two more views. |
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| Dmitry Gavryushin |
Posted on 02-08-2007 16:29
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Member Location: Posts: 3303 Joined: 17.10.05 |
And that's a female I believe. |
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| Nikita Vikhrev |
Posted on 02-08-2007 16:40
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 Member Location: Posts: 9193 Joined: 24.05.05 |
1. You stoled my idea 2. Genitalia of your males is similar to mine, so soon we'll get species level ID. Nikita Edited by Nikita Vikhrev on 02-08-2007 16:46 Nikita Vikhrev - Zool Museum of Moscow University |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 02-08-2007 18:25
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 Member Location: Posts: 9295 Joined: 05.06.06 |
2 notes burned???   In fires (i'm not talking about bonfires... but fires on forests), is it usually to find Microsania in trunks of trees? Why they are connected with smoke? Perhaps they put their eggs in ashes??? "but Microsania swarms are usually observed in smoke and both sexes may be found around wood ash. Larvae of Microsania are unknown," Is it true about the last sentence?? |
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| Susan R Walter |
Posted on 02-08-2007 19:09
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 Member Location: Posts: 1794 Joined: 14.01.06 |
Damn - there was a burning car outside my office this afternoon and I never even thought to rush out with a net and camera! Mind you, since my office is in the City of London, and that sort of incident always causes considerable panic, I would certainly have been arrested as a suspicious character.  Jorge - I think the scouting demonstration cost Dima less than a euro. Isn't it illegal to destroy or deface currency though?
Susan |
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| Dmitry Gavryushin |
Posted on 06-08-2007 08:06
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Member Location: Posts: 3303 Joined: 17.10.05 |
Last Saturday I made two fires (this time I was more lucky with birch bark), one of them exactly in the same place where I caught those three but no Microsania, so it's not so easy as it might seem. Maybe it was a bit late (6 to 7.30 p.m.)... As a consolation, I found a male and a female of Colobaea bifasciella on my way back. |
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| Dmitry Gavryushin |
Posted on 09-08-2007 08:55
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Member Location: Posts: 3303 Joined: 17.10.05 |
August 07, another fire, this time in a pine forest, 1.30 to 3 p.m. Dozens of Microsania, almost equal proportion of males and females. Some males were carrying loads of mites on ventral side of abdomen. |
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| Dmitry Gavryushin |
Posted on 16-08-2007 07:04
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Member Location: Posts: 3303 Joined: 17.10.05 |
Does anybody know what Chandler says about association of Microsania with mites (The Flat-Footed Flies: (Diptera: Opetiidae and Platypezidae) of Europe, p. 81)? |
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but don't see the image in the post.
