#1
Hi y'all,
I would love to get some help with my latin.
The identity of
Odinia boletina Zett./
ornata Zett. has been up for discussion several times in the forum.
Jere Kahanpää has been telling us tha "ornata is the larger species with darkened crossvein and two equally strong bristles at the apex of the mid tibia" and "boletina is the smaller species with completely clear wings and unequally stron tibial bristles".
Since I am deeply fascinated by Joh. Wilh. Zetterstedt and also by Odiniids, I've went to check his original description of
O.boletina (As
Milichia boletina, in Diptera Scandinaviaevol. 7, p.2721 [1848]). I have come to think that part of the confusion between these two species stems from someone misunderstanding the last part of the description, where
O.boletina is compared to
O. ornata. If this is taken as a description of
O.ornata as opposed to
boletina (which it really looks like if you look at the text superficially), confusion reigns. Otherwise, I think it is a pretty clear diagnosis supporting Jere's interpretations. Of course, someone should look at the Zetterstedt types, but I'd be a bit suprised if the description above doesn't match Zetterstedt's interpretation.
My rough translation is as follows - please help me correct it!
------------
3.
M. Boletina: [head?] grey, epistoma white throughout length; antennae yellow, basal segments and spot on the top [of third segment] completely black; palpi and legs yellow, the latter with brown spotting; abdomen with 6 brown spots; wings clear, unspotted, black costal spot at tht apex of subcostal vein.
----- Dwells on mushrooms and on the trunks of living Populus tremula in Sweden not frequent in the middle of July; evidently I found 2 males and as many females in Östrogothia at Lärketorp and at Wadstena; in Gottlandia I have also caught male specimens (Prof Sahlberg has also communicated records from E Finland).
M. ornata is very similar, but [
M. boletina is] constantly twice smaller or less, and the transverse nerves differs in not being infuscated [in
M. boletina]. Wings are clear, veins almost unpigmented, with only minute black spots at the crossing of the subcostal and costal veins. Rest of the body exactly as in
M. ornata. Eyes in life reddish with coppery shine, in the middle with a purple transverse band.
[EDIT]Updated according to Stephen R's comments
#6
I think I can help with the Latin.
In the first paragraph 'palpis pedibusque flavis' means 'with the palps and legs (feet) yellow', so 'his' (the latter) refers to the legs, which are brown-spotted.
The subject of the last paragraph is definitely
M. boletina. ' Similar to
M. ornata as an egg to an egg, but...'
So you are right.
Stephen.
#9
Stephen is right. I just point some more info...
"pedibusque" In Latin the part "que" means the same as "is".
Pedi is foot in Latin. And the plural is "
pedibus". As it was well translated by Stephen. "with the palps and legs (feet) yellow".
Just to complement...
Colours in masculine;
feminine and
neutral genus.
Flavus;
flava;
flavum- yellow
albus;
alba;
album- white
niger;
nigra;
nigrum- black
ruber;
rubra;
rubrum- red
cinereus ;
cinerea;
cinereum- grey
#10
jorgemotalmeida wrote:
"pedibusque" In Latin the part "que" means the same as "is".
Thanks for support Jorge. I think you meant to type 'and', not 'is', for '-que'.
Pedibus is the ablative case - here indicating 'with' - of the plural of
pes (= 'foot' in classical Latin but in the entomological context it refers to the whole leg).
The case-endings are important in understanding Latin: the 'ae' (dative case) at the end of
ornatae is what tells us that this is not the subject of the last paragraph but the thing to which the subject is being compared.
Stephen.
