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Hello! I caught this fly at night, in Hungary. I keyed it out, and I got Istocheta cinerea/subcinerea. As I read, distinction of these two species is only possible in females. But, how can I identify genders in this genus? I did some pictures about sternites, because this is the only way to distinguish these two species, but I don’t know if this is a male or a female. Could you help me please?

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I think you have a female Istocheta cinerea.

According to Wood's review of New World Blondeliini, male Istocheta lack proclinate orbitals. It is not clear whether his diagnosis is based on all world species or only on the single species found in North America.

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Thank you very much!

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In any case, it is a female indeed.
Nice work.
Most Istochaeta are active at night, so that figures


Theo

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Thank you!