| Empis tessellata (Fabricius, 1794) |
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Scientific name: Empis tessellata (Fabricius, 1794) Common name: French name: Empis marqueté Order: Diptera Family: Empididae Wingspan : 8.5-12 mm. Biotope: Woodland edges, shrubs, hedgerows, parks and gardens. Flower places with umbellifers. Geographic area: Europe, Asia east to Japan, North Africa. Observation period : April to August. |
Empis tessellata is a rather lengthy fly with a spherical head, a long proboscis and reddish eyes. The pronotum is black with four pale grey longitudinal stripes. The brown-tinged wings are more yellowish near the base. Females have an oval-shaped abdomen with a pointed tip. Males have a cylindrical abdomen with a rounded tip. The legs are long and hairy. The femora are black near the base and may show some brownish yellow near the apex. The tibiae and the tarsi are reddish. Empis opaca has reddish brown femora near the base. Empis femorata has swollen hind femora. Empis tessellata feeds on nectar and on other insects. Empis tessellata's mating always occurs after a courtship gift. The males gives one captured insect to the female. The larvae grow in the soil where they feed on larvae of other species and on other small invertebrates. |
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Empis tessellata is one of these numerous species which visit Pyracantha blossom in the garden. Is it to find nectar or is it because there are many potential preys here? |
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The black femora with reddish tibiae and tarsi enable to confirm the Empis tessellata species. |
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The pointed tip of the abdomen indicates one female here. |
André Bon October 2015
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