Ibisia marginata

Ibisia marginata
Ibisia cf. marginata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Athericidae
Genus: Ibisia
Species: I. marginata
Binomial name
Ibisia marginata
(Fabricius, 1781)
Synonyms
  • Bibio marginata Fabricius, 1781
  • Ibisia atherix (Donovan, 1813)
  • Musca atherix Donovan, 1813

Ibisia marginata is a species of 'ibis flies' belonging to the family Athericidae, a small family very similar to Rhagionidae ('Snipe Flies'). This species is present in most of Europe.

The body is quite slender, eyes are rounded and well separated, antennae 3 segmented, costae are extended around the whole wings and the abdomen has several dark and clear stripes. The legs are entirely black (hence the common name 'Black-legged water-snipefly').

Adult females aggregate in large clumps and lay egg masses on tree branches or under bridges over flowing waters. In such a way the first stage larvae will fall into the water, where they will start their life cycle. The larvae are aquatic and saprophagous.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/24/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.