Diptera.info

Posted by rvanderweele on 10-11-2006 17:53

Paul, do you have the new Hilara key at hand? Seeing this lateral picture I would guess indeed H. albiventris or rather H. cingulata. But, as we say here, I am not going to put my hand into the fire for it.

Posted by Paul Beuk on 10-11-2006 19:48

In that key I cannot find anything that would suggest otherwise than H. albiventris.

Posted by rvanderweele on 10-11-2006 21:08

I do not have the key (yet). I just looked into the British Flies. On page 674 till 677 you`ll find the description of both species.
My thought that the specimen may belong to H. cingulata just came by the fact that COllin mentions of albiventris that the first five abdominal segments are whitish yellow, while cingulata has just the basis of the abdomen paler, while sometimes all pale, except hypogonium.
Looking at the photo I see that only the first segments are pale, while the remaining are just ventrally pale.

Posted by rvanderweele on 12-11-2006 19:26

Paul, I guess you are right. I was just reading the revision of the European species of Hilara flavipes group by Chvala in Studia dipterologica 4(1997) heft 2 pg 463-472. It is important to buy the new key of Hilara by Chvala, since Collin`s work is a bit outdated. H. cingulata is a syn of H. flavipes. It is a pity it is not possible to look at the fly under the microscope, but I think you will come out at H. albiventris.

Posted by conopid on 12-11-2006 20:20

Thanks Ruud and Paul,
I keyed this out as albiventris with Collin, but was unsure because the pale abdominal segments are limited to the first few segments. I will call it H albiventris based on the discussion here and my ID with Collin. I will invest in Chvala some time - I might even convince the family that it will make a good Christmas gift

Nigel

Posted by rvanderweele on 12-11-2006 20:37

Nigel, I am thinking about the same, though I also would like the key of Platyzpezidae and Drosophilidae. I am just wondering why a book like the key on Hilara is so very expensive. I think it is for entomology important that amateurs will be able to use the work and, thus, take care for progress in this science.

Posted by Paul Beuk on 13-11-2006 08:11

Expensive because: Luxury print, small number of copies, expensive publisher.

Posted by conopid on 13-11-2006 09:11

Yes the price of many key works is very expensive

. It would be great if new keys could all be produced on CD as well as in book form, and sold at a cheaper price, so that amateurs can afford them.

We can live in hope!