BRACHYCERA, Muscomocpha Aschiza, Platypezoidea

Number of British species: 1

Size: S

Difficulty: 2

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A small (2-5 mm), slender, all dark species with a characteristic wing venation. Male with holoptic eyes; antenna with elongate second and third segments, arista long, terminal. Wing darkened along the costa, in particular in the male; vein Sc reaching the wing margin; crossvein DM-Cu absent; vein M with a long fork; small cell cup narrowing to a point; anal lobe large in the male, virtually absent in the female. Legs slender, simple.

The only European species, Opetia nigra, has been reared from a piece of birch wood in an advanced state of decay. The ovipositor is peculiarly shaped, suggesting a specialised mode of ovipositing and a distinctive larval habitat. The adults often occur in wooded areas but in open habitats as well. Adult males are often found on leaves of trees and bushes, the much less frequently found females in lower vegetation. It appears that nectar feeding may occur. The males sometimes congregate in swarms.

Chandler (2001c)