common snipe fly

(Rhagio mystaceus)

Conservation Status
common snipe fly
Photo by Alfredo Colon
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

not listed

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Common snipe fly is common in the United States east of the Great Plains and in adjacent Canadian provinces.

Adults are small and dark, males ¼ to (7 to 9 mm) long, females a little smaller, ¼ to 5 16(6 to 8 mm) long.

The antennae have three segments. The third segment is more or less rounded, is not divided by rings (annulated), and bears a long, slender style at the end. On the male, the compound eyes are large and meet at the top of the head. On the female, they are smaller and do not meet.

The thorax is pale with three dark longitudinal stripes. The center stripe is the widest but is divided longitudinally by a thin pale line.

The abdomen is dark and somewhat tapered toward the end. Each abdominal segment has a narrow yellowish ring at the end. On some individuals, the first one or two segments are mostly yellow above (dorsally).

The wings are mostly clear with two dark horizontal bands, dark along the veins, and dark tips. The lobes at the base of the wing that cover the haltere (calypters) are small.

The legs are very long and slender. The fourth segment (tibia) of the front legs is mostly pale with a dark tip. The tibia on the middle legs is usually brown. The last part of the leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has three segments. The last segment has three pads at the end.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Male: ¼ to (7 to 9 mm)

Female: ¼ to 5 16(6 to 8 mm)

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Woodlands, areas with dense vegetation

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

May through June

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

Larvae are found in decaying vegetation.

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

 

 
     
 

Larva Food

 
 

Insects

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Insects

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 27, 29, 30.

 
  2/1/2019      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Diptera (flies)  
 

Suborder

Brachycera  
 

Infraorder

Tabanomorpha (snipe flies and allies)  
 

Superfamily

Rhagionoidea  
 

Family

Rhagionidae (snipe flies)  
 

Genus

Rhagio  
       
 

Infraorder
Orthorrhapha was historically one of two infraorders of Brachycera, a suborder of Diptera. However, Brachycera did not contain all of the descendants of the last common ancestor (paraphyletic). It was split into five extant (still existing) and one extinct infraorder. Orthorrhapha is now considered obsolete and has not been used in decades, but it persists in printed literature and on some online sources. A recent revision of the order Diptera (Pope, et al., 2011) revived the name Orthorrhapha, but this has not been widely accepted.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Leptis mystaceus

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

common snipe fly

 
       

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Calypter

On flies: one of two small membranous lobes at the base of the forewing that covers the haltere.

 

Tarsus

On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.

 

Tibia

The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot).

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Alfredo Colon

 
    common snipe fly      
           
 
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Other Videos
 
  Snipe Fly (Rhagionidae: Rhagio mystaceus?) in the Spotlight
Carl Barrentine
 
   
 
About

Published on Jun 10, 2011

Photographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (09 June 2011).

 
  Common snipefly
The Nature Box
 
   
 
About

Published on Aug 16, 2017

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Author: Katja Schulz
License: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Description: Common snipefly (Rhagio mystaceus). Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC, USA.

Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Common_snipefly_(Rhagio_mystaceus).webm

Title: Common snipefly (Rhagio mystaceus).webm

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In this video, the original material has been stabilised.

 
       

 

Camcorder

 
 
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  Alfredo Colon
7/9/2018

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

common snipe fly  
           
 
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