Empis

Diptera Classification

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Description & taxonomy

Rhamphomyia marginata (Fabricius)
Fri, 07/25/2008 - 16:59 — iwinkler

Diagnosis:
(abbreviated from Bartak, 1980)
Male: Typical Rhamphomyia (Pararhamphomyia) species; black ground color with grey dusting on thorax and abdomen, brownish stripes under dorsocentral setae. Wings clear.
Female: wings greatly broadened, with posteroapical margin straight, and a wide brown band around wing margin.

Taxonomic data
Valid Genus:
Rhamphomyia
Species epithet:
marginata
Author:
Fabricius
Year:
1787
Page:
364
Synonyms:
Empis platyptera Panzer 1794; Rhamphomyia latipennis Meigen 1822

Other Information:

Description: Adult
Head:

Thorax:

Wing:

Legs:

Male abdomen:

Female abdomen:

Length:
4.1-5.5 mm.

Description: Immature stages
Egg:

Larva:

Puparium:

General
Distribution:
Central and western Europe, excluding Great Britain and southern Sweden

Biology:
This species shows sex role reversal, as described by Svensson (1997), with ornamented females forming swarms. Swarms of up to 40 females are found in forest clearings for 2-3 hours around sunset. Males bring nuptial prey (usually male midges) into swarm, but often leave the swarm without mating. In central Europe, adults have been found from late April to late May.

Discussion:
This species exhibits one of the most striking examples of female ornamentation in the Empidinae. The bicolored female wings have approximately 1.6 times the area of the male wings. Males are apparently very choosy in selecting a mate, and prefer courting in larger female swarms.

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Bibliography

Year	Author	Title
2000	Svensson, B.G.; Petersson, E.	Swarm site fidelity in the sex role-reversed dance fly Empis borealis
1999	Sadowski, J.A.; Moore, A.J.; Brodie, E.D.	The evolution of empty nuptial gifts in a dance fly Empis snoddyi (Diptera: Empididae): bigger isn't always better
1994	Chvála, M.	The Empidoidea (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. III. Genus Empis
1992	Svensson, B.G.; Petersson, E.	Why insects swarm: testing the models for lek mating systems on swarming Empis borealis females
1990	Svensson, B.G; Petersson, E.; Frisk, M.	Nuptial gift size prolongs copulation duration in the dance fly Empis borealis.
1989	Svensson, B.G., Petersson, E.; Forsgren, E.	Why do males of the dance fly Empis borealis refuse to mate? The importance of female age and size.
1988	Svensson, B.G.; Petersson, E.	Non-random mating in the dance fly Empis borealis: the importance of male choice
1987	Svensson, B.G.; Petersson, E.	Sex-role reversed courtship behaviour, sexual dimorphism and nuptial gift in the dance fly, Empis borealis (L.)
1973	Alcock, J.	The mating behavior of Empis barbatoides Melander and Empis poplitea Loew (Diptera: Empididae)
1969	Steyskal, G.C.	New species of Empididae of the genera Empis, Hilara, and Hormopeza from Georgia, with a synopsis of the North American species of Hormopeza