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hi Asilidaeforum,

This afternoon I got surprised when I watched one of some Baccha elongata more closer..
I discovered that the fly I saw was (for 100%) not a Baccha elongata - it's was a Asilidae sp. -

it was a quite long, elongated fly with spines on the fronthead!, like the devil..
I can say a pretty one

what kind of 'devil'-Asilidae is this?

greeting Robert,

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devil from above)

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On first sight one would think of Dioctria hyalipennis but the coxae are completely yellow, just like legs 1 and 2, and the abdominal segments have a yellow posterior margin. The border between the parts of the thorax that are pollinose are sharp, too. Sandy soils. Mark van Veen 1996 does not mention Amsterdam, but there must be some forest edges on sandy soil.

Jan Velterop

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Hello Jan,

I think the coxae of Dioctria linearis are yellow, this fly fits also more in the biotope (wet forest)
What is your idea about Dioctria linearis?

And about the face of this fly.., that isn't normal?!, something must have happened..

greeting Robert,

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Hello Robert, you're right. I have seen the coxae too and intended to state: D. linearis, but my text did not come through correctly, this being my first intervention.
As with the face of the fly: it seems to be an abnormal development of the head in the pupa. It doesn't look like damage by some predator. If you have collected it, you should be able to see, if not it has died naturally! Regards, Jan.

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I wonder if the head was maybe struck by a drop of water, it looks a kind of soaked, explaining the 'thorns': hairs sticking together.

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Robert, Jan:

This poor Dioctria (linearis seems a correct ID) is a victim of some accident that happened when the adult was emerging from the pupal case. The head portion of the pupal case failed to split open properly, so the adult retained this structure (a chitin mask). The biggest pair of "thorns" are the antennal sheaths.

Regards, Eric

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Aaaahhhhh! You are right, of course!

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Even the flies have Lordi monster masks these days

Eric, I hindsight that's obviously what has happened here. Well spotted. I have never seen this kind of accident before.

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Thanks a lot for unmasking this phantom

Next time I prefer to see a normal one!

greeting Robert,