Side-striped True Bee Fly
S1, Female, Side-stripe
Ellura
Clear-winged Striped Bee Fly
S2, Male, dorsal
 
                      
Side-striped True Bee Fly (Staurostichus sp ES04)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Flies (Diptera)
Family: Bee Fly (Bombyliidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Side-striped True Bee Fly (Staurostichus sp ES04)
This Photo:     🔍S1, Female, ventral🔎

Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin & Prof Xuankun Li (XkL) for identifying this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
~5.5mm long, excluding appendages.
Found in the vegi shadehouse yesterday.
NB: the spots on the wings are NOT on the veins, they are in the middle of the wing cells. Seems unique.
The large number of similar looking photo's are actually focusing on different parts of the body at different angles.
Chris considered it may be a female Staurostichus pictipennis.
Xuankun Li said "Chris, this looks so special! Not a Staurostichus pictipennis, but I am not sure about the species."
We recognise female here as the eyes are separated, males have touching eyes.

Copyright © 2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 14-Aug-2024
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.