Empis snoddyi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Empis snoddyi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Empididae |
| Genus: | Empis |
| Species: | E. snoddyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Empis snoddyi Steyskal, 1969 | |
Empis snoddyi is a species of dance flies in the family Empididae.[1][2][3][4] It is present in the United States, specifically mountainous areas from southern Virginia to northern Georgia.[5] These flies are known for their distinctive mating ritual in which the males offer the females a large empty sack filled with hundreds of silk bubbles.[6]
The thorax and head are darkly colored with grey frosted areas. Eyes are nearly holoptic, meaning that they almost meet in the middle of the head, but there is a slight separation. Legs are yellow with a dark ring where the femur ends. Wings are semi-clear with brown veins throughout. Males and females look quite similar. Two differences are that the separation between the eyes is usually wider in males, and the bristles on the upper part of the leg are shorter in males.[5]