Chequered-margin Bee Fly S4, dorsal | Chequered-margin Bee Fly S2, Emarginate Eye | |||||
Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | ||||
Order: | Flies (Diptera) | ||||
Family: | Bee Fly (Bombyliidae) iNaturalist Observation | ||||
Species: | Chequered-margin Bee Fly (Oncodosia patula) | ||||
This Photo: | S4, profile | ||||
Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found in the Riverland and possibly elsewhere A big fly at ~15mm long (male & female). Striped, wide bodied with pale wing tips normally associated with Comptosia sp. We managed to capture a couple of these on a one week project in the Riverland. They had slight differences, but it's clear the hair on the body wears easily. You can see the "Chequered-margin" (hairs around the abdomen), as well as an abdominal stripe in specimen one, but not specimen 2. However, on S1 they are worn on one side, but clear on the other. When investigating gender differences Chris said "Males have closer eyes. Eye separation: male about 1.5x maximum diameter of median ocellus; female about 2x distance between lateral ocelli. (ie male closer). Wings: length: male 15.0--21.5 mm, female 15.0--20 .5 mm; (ie female a tiny bit smaller)" | |||||
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