Enica longirostris (Wiedemann, 1819)

An very distinctive fly of brownish colour with yellowish-white coloration on the head. The pile of the front, the sides of the thorax and scutellum and all tibiae and femora is decidedly bristly and black. The thorax above and the whole abdomen, is covered with matted, appressed pile, slightly scaliform, of mixed colours, pale brown and brownish white or yellow.
The wings are quite distinctive; the costal cell is yellowish and the remainder of the wing infuscated brown, though paler on the posterior half; it has 8 distinct and conspicuous pale whitish fenestrate spots centered about the crossveins and vein furcations, and each of considerable size. There are 3 submarginal cells and the marginal cell is divided into 3 cells by 2 extra crossveins. The second vein often arises as a crossvein with backward spur. The wing is narrow basally, the alula narrow.

The wing is illustrated in Hull 1973:
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/102774#page/514/mode/1up

Description by Bezzi 1956:
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40844162#page/48/mode/1up

Original description by Wiedemann (Anthrax longirostris):
Wiedemann, C.R.W. 1819. Beschreibung neuer Zweiflügler aus Ostindien und Afrika. Zoologisches Magazin 1(3)
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14928692#page/19/mode/1up

Distribution: Western Cape, South Africa

iNat observations: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/664128-Enica-longirostris/browse_photos

Posted on Ιανουάριος 17, 2024 0538 ΜΜ by traianbertau