Apiocera moerens

Flower-loving Fly at Reid, ACT

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Identification history

Apiocera moerens	8 Mar 2018	MichaelMulvaney
Apiocera moerens	7 Mar 2018	DaveFerg
Apiocera sp. (genus)	25 Feb 2018	JanetRussell

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Significant sighting

MichaelMulvaney noted:

8 Mar 2018

First Canberra Nature Map sighting of this genus and no records in the Atlas of Living Australia of this species in the ACT

6 comments

HarveyPerkins wrote:

23 Feb 2018

Looks like an Apiocera species (Apioceridae) to me. Great find. I haven't seen one in the ACT yet (and apparently nor has anyone else on CNM). My closest was out near West Wyalong.

JanetRussell wrote:

24 Feb 2018

I live in a 9th floor apartment and I wonder sometimes if the flies I get here come in on the wind on their last legs - they always seem to be fairly inert on the balcony floor when I see them.

michaelb wrote:

26 Feb 2018

Very interesting. I've set up the taxonomy. A quote from ALA: "They occur mostly in dry sandy habitats in the deserts..... ". See:
https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:5c8f2ae7-8aa5-4639-a02d-77166ba2e88e

JanetRussell wrote:

26 Feb 2018

Yes, I saw that. I then went to ALA and the sightings include coastal. I didn’t know what to think so I decided to add it and see what happened.
http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:5c8f2ae7-8aa5-4639-a02d-77166ba2e88e

michaelb wrote:

26 Feb 2018

The ALA does not give a record of where a species occurs, but where they are seen, so there may be a bias in the data. That is, there are a lot of observers along the east coast of Australia, but few in the desert regions.

DaveFerg wrote:

8 Mar 2018

There is another species of Apiocera in the ACT, Apiocera striativentris that occurs along the Murrumbidgee River. We have just published a detailed description of that species immature stages, link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323445430_Immature_stages_of_the_Australian_flower-loving_fly_Apiocera_striativentris_Diptera_Apioceridae

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