Shore Flies (Ephydridae) - 83 Species, Identification & Facts

Athyroglossa glaphyropus

Identification: The only Eastern species of the genus with white halteres.

Brachydeutera longipes

Identification: Lacks a sharp demarcation between the brownish dorsal area and the grayish ventral area comes to light

Brachydeutera sturtevanti

Identification: "The long, rounded facial carina, the very long third costal section, and stout, distally pointed male genital processes will readily distinguish this species from argentata and neotropica , which border its range on the east and sout

Cirrula austrina

Identification: Two fronto-orbital bristles present, one presutural dorsocentral bristle present, one pair of cruciate interfrontal bristles present, arista longer in length than antennal segments 1-3 combined, prescutellar acrostichal bristles reduc

Alkali Fly

Cirrula hians

Identification: Three or four pairs of fronto-orbital bristles present, two presutural dorsocentral bristles present, two pairs of cruciate interfrontal bristles present, arista about equal in length as antennal segments 1-3 combined, one prescutella

Clanoneurum americanum

Identification: Vein R2+3 very close to R1 and C, dm-cu with sharp angle in middle.

Dichaeta caudata

Identification: Examination of male genitalia needed for identification.

Discomyza incurva

Length 2.5-3mm. A strongly arched, compact thorax gives the fly a hunchbacked appearance in lateral view. The femora and tibiae are primarily dark, but the middle and hind tarsi are orange to yellowish. Most frequently encountered in grasslands, mead

Gastrops nebulosus

Identification: The only Gastrops in the USA with dark wing spots.

Hyadina albovenosa

Named after the white crossveins. Some Nostima also have white crossveins, but have additional wing or thorax markings that H. albovenosa lacks.

Hyadina furva

Identification: Two subspecies recognized: Hyadina furva furva - eastern USA (west to KS-TX), Canada (Ontario), Bermuda Hyadina furva flavipes - southwest USA (AZ, CA), Mexico

Hydrellia albilabris

Larvae mine and pupate in thalli of duckweed ( Lemna minor ; also recorded from Spirodela in the Palaearctic region).

Hydrellia formosa

Identification: The only species that can be easily identified from photos.

Ilythea caniceps

Identification: Similar to spilota with legs largely yellow.

Lemnaphila scotlandae

"Adult L. scotlandae are commonly found on or flying over the surface of floating duckweed thalli. The adults utilize the Lemna for food, leaving characteristic elongate gouges on the surface of the thallus. Adults have been collected in late Novembe

Leptopsilopa atrimana

Identification: Small black ephydrids with black front legs that contrast with the yellowish middle and hind legs. Slight infuscation over crossvein dm-cu. Face striate.

Limnellia anna

Identification: Grayish pollinose stripe on ventral margin of face, contrasting with rest of face; wing pattern different than the other eastern species.

Limnellia quadrata

A very tiny (2 or 3 mm) fly with distinctively patterned wings. This is a member of the Ephydridae or 'shore flies' which are found around seashores and the shores of inland lakes and ponds. Widespread and probably fairly frequent in Britain, but lit

Lipochaeta ranica

Identification: antennae widely separated in deep pits; arista much shorter than the rest of the antenna; body bristles very weak

Lipochaeta slossonae

Identification: Small antennae widely separated in deep pits, with arista much shorter than rest of antenna. Body with very weak bristles.

Lytogaster excavata

Identification: "Frontal triangle with lateral orbital margins distinctly and sharply raised" (Clausen, 1982)

Mosillus bidentatus

Identification: Face with a pair of small, white spots between antennae and eyes. Other North American species have a large white area instead of small spots.

Mosillus tibialis

Identification: Face with a more or less square white patch on each side between antenna and eye. This patch is reduced to two spots in bidentata (a mostly western species) and drawn out into a point in stegmaieri (a coastal species).

Nostima niveivenosa

"One of the most widespread and commonly collected species of Nostima."

Nostima picta

Identification: Wing with crossveins white, other veins and wing membrane dark. Thorax with two white stripes. Scutellum and adjacent scutum velvety black. N. velutina , only known from southern Mexico, has the black area extending farther forward.

Notiphila pulchrifrons

Identification: The very strongly contrasting markings on the top of the head combined with distinct stripes on scutum extending less distinctly onto scutellum should distinguish this species from other Notiphila .

Philygria debilis

Identification: A brownish species with no wing spots except over crossveins.

Psilopa aeneonigra

Identification: Black wing base like Cressonomyia , but white haltere knob. "A rare species occurring in the Atlantic and Gulf States." (Cresson, 1942)

Psilopa leucostoma

Identification: Distinguished from other North American Psilopa by the black body with pale halteres and legs. The male has a white face, the source of the species name which means "white mouth." Larvae mine leaves of Chenopodiaceae or Amaranthaceae

Psilopa loewi

Identification: Black, halteres white, wings tinted yellow with very small black area at base, antennae yellowish with flagellomere partly dark, tarsi white with strongly contrasting dark fifth tarsomere.

Psilopa nitidula

3mm. Glossy black/bronze. Front tibia and tarsi all black. Hind tibia and tarsi, plus mid tarsi, yellow. Halteres white. Overwinters amongst evergreen vegetation. Reasonably common and widespread in England with few records from Scotland. No addition

Scatella marinensis

Identification: A member of the Scatella triseta group with upper face brown and lower face white (all brown in melanderi ) and scutellum weakly convex (flat in triseta ).

Trimerina madizans

Identification: Sharply margined abdomen, no prescutellar arcostichal setae, lateral vertical setae absent. Similar to some other related Ephydridae (such as Leptopsilopa) but the above characters combined with the foreleg coloration (tibia and tarsi