Empis opaca
Empis opaca
Empis opaca is a fly from the family of dance flies ( Empididae ).
Features
The flies reach a body length of 6.5 to 9 millimeters. Your body is colored black and gray dusted. On thorax run unbeborstete longitudinal strips between which gray stripes are velvety with bristles. The head is round and has a long, slightly curved trunk. The legs ( femurs ) are brown, the rails ( tibia ) to the front and middle legs are hairy only thin. A reliable determination of the type can only be done by a genitalmorphologische investigation.
Occurrence and life
The species is widespread in Central and Western Europe. The animals occur in May at the edge of moist deciduous forests in large flocks on. The male begins with the partner Advertise a fly and hovers with his prey in the air. The female rams the male in flight, which both fall to the ground and the female can turn to the bride gift. Meanwhile, the mating takes place. The couple can fly interconnected together.