A couple from the sanctuary

[urbpan]

Hopefully badnoodles can help me out with this dipteran. I'm guessing it's a non-biting midge.
You can see his (I think it's a male--big bushy antennae) halteres. The halteres, if you aren't already aware, are the little drumstick-shaped things by the insect's middle legs. They vibrate when the insect flies, providing stability.



I took the back way to the train station, through the woods.

Comments

[ms-cantrell.livejournal.com]

is that a turkey? :|

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Yes indeedy. There were four of them back there, but I didn't stalk them stealthily enough.

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

It *is* a male, in the suborder Nematocera. Given the wing orientation and the length of the front pair of legs, I'd tentatively agree with you on the non-biting midge (Chironomidae) ID. However, Chironomids are usually less than 1 cm long, and that fly appears to be somewhat larger. Without being able to see the wing venation or the metanotum, I couldn't say for certain.

[ankhanu.livejournal.com]

I love your avatar :)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

He's about 5 mm long--I got real close.

Chironomids are very common here, but not usually this time of year. This specimen is trapped between two window panes, though.

"Metanotum," huh? Let's see, the pronotum on my hissing cockroaches is where their "horns" are, so the metanotum must be the next section back?

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

Yup - it's the top of the second thoracic section. Chironomids usually-but-not-always have a ridge or keel running down the midline of this segment.

[ankhanu.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's most likely a male midge (Chironomidae) of some sort. Species IDing on dipterans like this require some pretty fine details.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

You can bet that when our Chironomid columns start appearing on the sanctuary (and by the river by my house) I'll be out there catching and pickling them, and putting wings under microscopes so you real biologists can study wing venation.