Scaptia (Scaptia) auriflua
A flower-feeding march fly at Lawson, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Scaptia (Scaptia) auriflua | MichaelMulvaney | 17 Feb 2025 | ||
| Scaptia (Scaptia) auriflua | TimL | 17 Feb 2025 |
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User's notes
The third image shows the male fly’s compound eyes. Close inspection of the photoreceptor cells making up the compound eyes shows that there are ocular hairs growing from the space between the cells. These can be seen in a number of insects including flies and bees and I understand they serve various purposes including helping to protect the eyes by creating a layer of relatively stagnant air at the eye surface, and also helping with detecting airflow direction during flight. The ocular hairs are quite tiny and easier to see when the eye is viewed edge on, as seen in the final two images.
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Location information
- Coordinates 149.094370-35.227901
- Altitude 624.9m
- Maps Lawson North Grasslands
- Places Lawson, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 15 Feb 2025 04:35 PM Recorded on
- TimL Recorded by
- 12mm to 25mm Animal size
- Male Gender
- Deceased Animal health
Collections
- TimL NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Scaptia (Scaptia) auriflua March or Horse flies (Tabanidae) True flies (Diptera) Insects
Species information
- Scaptia (Scaptia) auriflua Scientific name
- A flower-feeding march fly Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1155m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species