Ectophasia crassipennis male · dygliamusė ^Thumbnails^Thumbnails^Thumbnails

Ectophasia crassipennis male · dygliamusė

It is similar to Ectophasia oblonga. These flies can mostly be encountered from early August through late September feeding on nectar of flowers (especially of Apiaceae, Asteraceae). The larvae are endoparasitic of Hemiptera (Pentatomidae, Acanthosomatidae, Coreidae, Lygaeidae).

Body length 7-12.5 mm. Ectophasia crassipennis is highly variable in appearance. It is a flattened species with a broad head and closely resembles one of the larger Phasia species e.g. P. hemiptera but has vein R4+5 open apically rather than stalked. Large males have very broad, boldly patterned wing, usually with areas around cross-vein r-m, along the outer cross-veins and in the costal area darkened. The wings are usually less extreme in medium-sized males, and in the smallest ones they resemble those of the females. The male abdomen is typically orange with a dark median stripe but can be more extensively (or even entirely) darkened on the disc. In some smaller ones it is patterned like that of a female.

Females average 9-10 mm in length and have the wings relatively unmodified other than a dark central smudge. The abdomen has orange sides basally and a grey dusted tergite 5 (most obvious when viewed from behind). The wing bases are yellow. The only way to separate them from some small males is to check for the small, rigid ovipositor (which is much smaller than a Phasia species) underneath the tip of the abdomen.

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