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Rhagionidae - US/Canada (in development)

Authors: Even Dankowicz

Last updated: Dec 2022

Help identify observations on iNaturalist:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?taxon_id=60470&place_id=1,6712

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Rhagionidae of the United States, Canada

Arthrocerinae: Arthroceras
Chrysopilinae: Chrysopilus
Rhagioninae: Rhagio
Spaniinae

Symphoromyia
Litoleptis
Omphalophora
Ptiolina
Spania

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Arthroceras

Antennal flagellum evenly tapering, distinct among Rhagionidae
Anal cell open, unlike Chrysopilus

		antenna	3^rd antennal segment	Body	Abdomen	Wings	femur	Hind femur
A. pollinosum	Northern/Western USA	dark	Relatively narrow	Yellowish grey pollinose	Dark	Yellow-tinged	Yellow-brown in F	With long hairs
A. leptis	Northern USA, Can	dark	Especially wide	Light grey pollinose	Dark	Dark tinged	Dark	Without long hairs
A. subaquilum	Northwestern US/Can	dark	Especially wide	F yellow-grey pollinose	F T1-4 dark	F dark tinged	Yellow-brown to brown	Without long hairs
A. fulvicorne	Western	At least base lighter	Especially wide	M light grey, F yellow grey pollinose		M brown tinged, yellower in F	Yellow-brown to brown	Without long hairs

arrows are 2 pt. and bolded black

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Chrysopilus

Antenna long aristate
1 hind tibial spur
r4+5 contains or posterior to wing tip
R4+5 vein split close to perpendicular

See Hardy 1949 for more clues for unusual spp.

Dark-winged spp		Scutum	abdomen	Wings
C. andersoni	Northeast			faint brown borders along veins, crossveins.	Larger, 9-15 mm
C. foedus	Northeast			Dark brown markings along veins, crossveins	Smaller, 7-11 mm
C. griffithi	FL			Brown spots at median crossveins alone	Smaller, 4.5-6 mm
C. quadratus	widespread			Single large distinct median brown spot
C. velutinus	Southeast	Black	Black	Smoky brown throughout
C. connexus	Eastern	Black	T1-5 posteriorlaterally silver	Smoky brown throughout
C. davisi	Eastern	Gold	Black	Smoky brown throughout
C. thoracicus	Eastern	Gold	Tergites apicolaterally pale/silver	Smoky brown throughout
C. basilaris	Eastern			Extreme base infuscated, otherwise hyaline

IL, © Even Dankowicz / CC BY

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Other spp.		Scutum	abdomen	Wings	profemora
C. fasciatus	Eastern	Laterally light/gold	Black, tergites with apical pale bands	Hyaline, or faint, stigma somewhat distinct	Basally dark	apical halteres brown/dark; female frons greyish opaque
C. ornatus	Eastern	Laterally light/gold	Black, tergites with apical pale bands	Hyaline or faint, stigma indistinct	Yellow	halteres, pale yellow; female frons shiny black
C. beameri	Southeast	dark	Black, at most T1 with pale pile, or some in F	Hyaline or faint, stigma indistinct	brown	Especially short mouthparts
C. alaskensis	Alaska	striped	Grey with black pile	Hyaline or faint, stigma indistinct	????check key	Scutum grey w/ brown stripes, distinct
C. proximus	Eastern	Dark to <->gold	Dark to yellow	Hyaline or faint, stigma indistinct	black
C. anthracinus	CA to WA	Light brown	brownish	Hyaline or faint, stigma indistinct	Yellow-brown to black	Male eyes nearly contiguous
C. pilosus	CO to East	Some white hairs	Dark to white	Hyaline or faint, stigma indistinct		Unlike C. proximus, has white hairs
C. humilis	CA	yellow	yellow	Hyaline or faint, stigma indistinct	brown
C. dilatus	CA			Hyaline or faint		Antennomere 1 elongate like Symphoromyia, unique among hyaline-winged ones
C. rotundipennis	Eastern	Pale yellow-brown	Pale yellow-brown	Hyaline or faint, stigma short and brown;		WINGS VERY ROUNDED
C. nudus	CA, WA	yellow	Grey-yellow	Hyaline or faint	Black, white poll
C. arctiventris	CO to CA	dark	Dark, grey pile	Hyaline or faint	Yellow to black	Body with grey pile, eyes joined 1x oc. Trngle lgn.
C. georgianus	Southeast	dark	Black, at most T1 with pale pile, or some in F	Hyaline or faint, dark brown elongate stigma	brown	Especially short mouthparts
C. xanthopus	Southwest	yellow	yellow	Hyaline or faint; dark brown stigma, elongate	Yellow
C. modestus	Eastern	yellow	yellow	Hyaline or faint; dark brown stigma, short	yellow	Distinctive: yellow legs + body, short dark stigma
C. tomentosus	CA, WA, UT	gold	gold	Hyaline or faint, stigma dark brown elongate	dark
C. luciferus	UT, WY, CA, BC	grey	Brown-grey	Hyaline or faint, stigma brown distinct	black
C. kincaidi	WA, BC	Grey-brown M, yellow F	yellow	Hyaline or faint, yellow-brown stigma	yellow
C. longipalpis	WA, BC, CA	Grey-dark	Grey-brown	Hyaline or faint, stigma brown elongate	Yellow-brown M, yellow F
C. angustifacies	AZ	Dark	Dark, sparse pile	Hyaline or faint, stigma dark brown, short	Brown base, yellow apex, to dark	Body without grey pile, eyes joined 2x oc. Trngle lng
C. divisus	AZ	Brown-grey	Dark, grey-brown	Hyaline or faint, stigma dark brown elongate	Black, dorsally white
C. flavibarbis	West-Northeast	Grey-black	Grey-brown on black	Hyaline or faint, stigma brown	black	yellow palpus pile
C. testaceipes	Western	Grey-gold	Grey-gold	Hyaline or faint, stigma light brown elongate	yellow

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Rhagio

Antenna long aristate
2 hind tibial spurs
r4+5 contains or posterior to wing tip
R4+5 vein split close to perpendicular

Western spp.	Body size	Male frons width vs ocellar triangle	mesonotum	legs	Abdomen	Wings
R. tringarius	Robust	Narrower	Grey-pollinose to brown		Yellow with black spots dorsal, terminally black	Hyaline	Female frons gold-brown; grey to dark-brown in below
Rhagio spp.	Robust	Narrower			Other than above	Hyaline
R. pollinosus	Slender	Wider	Black pile, usually with three brown stripes on ashy grey pubescent scutum	Metafemora usually darkened	Pale pile, with grey ashy pubescence	Hyaline	upper occiput dark
R. californicus	Slender	Wider	Black pile, ashy grey pubescence without distinct stripes	Metafemora usually darkened	Pale, sparse pile; without pubescence;	Hyaline	Upper occiput dark
R. chillcotti	Slender	Wider	White pilose, grey pubescence, without distinct stripes	Femora yellow	Pale pile, ash-grey pubescence	Hyaline	upper occiput mostly white
R. brunneipennis	Slender	Wider		femora black	pile almost all dark	Brown

CA, © Don Loarie, iNaturalist / CC BY

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Eastern heavily patterned Rhagio spp.		Scutum	Abdomen	Wing
R. scolopaceus	MA	grey striped	orange with medium-sized medial spots	Wingtip, crossveins, stigma black
R. albicornis	LA to FL, NC	orange with brown stripes	light brown, large triangular markings	Wingtip, discal cell apex, crossveins, diffusely brown	white antennae **female frons uniquely glossy black (other eastern Rhagio spp with pollinose female frons)
R. floridensis	FL, GA, to LA	yellow-orange	yellowish, with short transverse markings	wing anterior apex, discal cell apex neatly brown
R. ochraceus / strigosus	NY	yellow-orange	yellow with large black triangles	infuscated crossveins - see p112 of Leonard 1930 in references	female frons grey-brown - specimens in MCZ historically
R. dichromaticus	AR to LA	light brown	mostly dark	male similar to mystaceus, but somewhat milky-grey and without dark wingtip area; female with wing dark brown, scarcely broken by paler areas	superficially similar to plumbeus/punctipennis; halteres dark
R. mystaceus	Northern, Eastern	grey striped; central vitta divided	yellow-banded	Superficially with 3 transverse wing bands (sometimes interrupted): along base of discal cell, at apex of discal cell, and at wingtip; no spot in cell br; spot in cell r5 at level of discal cell apex, if present, about as wide as spot at R4+5 fork	large, body over 7 mm long foretibiae whitish on basal 2/3 , dark-tipped
R. plumbeus	Northern, Eastern	grey striped; central vitta divided	mostly dark	Superficially with 3 transverse wing bands (sometimes interrupted): along base of discal cell, at apex of discal cell, and at wingtip; with strong spot in cell br; spot in cell r5 at level of discal cell apex generally wider than spot at R4+5 fork	small, body under 7 mm long foretibiae dark red-brown without distinctly darker apex distinctly more compact than similar species
R. punctipennis	Northern, Eastern	central vitta undivided	mostly dark	Superficially with 3 transverse wing bands (sometimes interrupted): along base of discal cell, at apex of discal cell, and at wingtip; typically with spot in middle of cell br; cell r5 at level of discal cell apex with a pair of separated spots, or a single wide spot	small, body under 7 mm long foretibiae lightish/reddish, dark-tipped

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Eastern, wings nearly hyaline, Rhagio spp.		Scutum	Abdomen	pterostigma
R. gracilis	NS, QB to NC, TN	yellow, glossy, with narrow stripes; very narrow scutum	transverse rectangular dark bands reaching sides of abdomen	indistinct	distinctly slender, with small head, male eyes not meeting but separated
R. lineola	Northern	grey, with whitish shoulders; narrower scutum	Very large black triangles	distinct	male abdomen with parallel-sided or laterally widest bands; frons bright white
R. terminalis	NY to TX	similar to hirtus; some black hairs, wide scutum	male with lateral spots and paired median spots on T3-7, terminal segments only with lateral spots (rarely mildly fused medially); female banded, although band on T3 usually divided medially; T3-4 postero-laterally yellow	distinct	“This species is very close in general appearance to hirtus, but is easily distinguished by…” **unlike orestes/hirtus, male abdomen with dark bands on terminal segments restricted to lateral spots, and both sezes with primarily black abdominal hairs (hirtus/orestes with predominantly yellow abdominal hairs on lateral T1-2 and with medially complete dark bands on male abdomen)
R. orestes	TN, NC, mountainous habitat	dark grey scutum, wide scutum	female with bands on T3-7 reaching lateral margins; male with broad bands, and T5-7 almost entirely black; T3-4 postero-laterally yellow	distinct	"This species is the high altitude, southern Appalachian equivalent of hirtus, and is possibly entitled to only subspecific status" *forecoxae grey; scutellar setae largely black; thorax largely dark grey; female with only S1-2 yellow
R. hirtus	GA to NY, IA	thorax ranges from grey to mostly yellow, entirely yellow in some females; wide scutum	female with transverse bands narrowing laterally; male variable, with markings as in female or more reduced; T3-4 postero-laterally yellow	distinct	*forecoxae yellow; scutellar setae yellow; thorax yellow/light grey
R. vertebratus	Northeastern	grey-pollinose to ?yellow-grey, with distinct striping, wide scutum	T2-4 with large black triangles; T5-7 with black bands reaching sides; sides of T2-7 black	distinct	hind femur largely apically black
R. tringarius	Northern, Eastern	grey-brown without distinct striping; very wide scutum	small black diamond-shaped spots; posteriorly all-black in males; sides of T2-7 with black margin	indistinct	Female frons gold-brown; grey to dark-brown in below

R. tringarius, NY, © edgarallenhoopoe, iNaturalist / CC BY-NC

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Litoleptis alaskensis

No d/dm cell
no tibial apical spurs
Antennal flagellum tapered, with very short stylus

Symphoromyia

Antenna long aristate
Basal flagellomere kidney-shaped, distinct in lateral view
1 Hind tibial spur somewhat indistinct
r4+5 contains wing tip
R4+5 vein split relatively acute

Subgenera:

Turner, 1974. A revision of the genus Symphoromyia Frauenfeld (Diptera: Rhagionidae). Canad. Entomol. 106: 851-868.

Species:

Catalogue of Nearctic Diptera

Turner & Chillcott, 1973. Four new species of the Symphoromyia pachyceras complex from California (Diptera: Rhagionidae). Pan-Pacific Entomol., 49: 5-20.

Aldrich, 1915. The dipterous genus Symphoromyia in North America. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 49: 113-142.

Symphoromyia, CA, © tiwane, iNaturalist / CC BY-NC

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Ptiolina

with d/dm cell
Mid and hind tibial apical spurs
Antennal stylus not longer than rest of antenna
Vein R4+5 anterior of wing tip

12 spp.

Keyed in Hardy McGuire 1947 Nearctic Ptiolina

Omphalophora

Antennal stylus about as long as base
Wing vein R4+5 contain the wing tip
Hind tibial spur

Keyed in Hardy McGuire 1947 Nearctic Ptiolina (keyed as Ptiolina)

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Spania nigra

with d/dm cell
mid tibial apical spurs, no hind tibial spurs
Antennal stylus longer than rest of antenna, still not like aristate
Scape smaller than pedicel
Wings nearly hyaline, somewhat infuscated especially along costa
At least part of vein M3 present

New England

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References

Sources for this entire project include:

Specimens were consulted in USNM and INHS collections.

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References

Other sources consulted for this specific document include:

Imada, Kato, 2016. Bryophyte-feeding of Litoleptis (Diptera: Rhagionidae) with descriptions of new species from Japan. Zootaxa. 4097(1), 041-058.
Kerr, 2004. REVISION OF THE GENERA OF THE RHAGIONIDAE OF THE WORLD (DIPTERA: BRACHYCERA). Dissertation.
Thompson, 1969. First record of Rhagio scolopaceus (Linne) in North America. Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash. 7: 141-143.
Hardy, McGuire, 1947. The Nearctic Ptiolina (Rhagionidae-Diptera). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 20(1): 1-15.
Hardy, 1949. The North American Chrysopilus (Rhagionidae-Diptera). American Midland Naturalist 41(1): 143-167

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References

Other sources consulted for this specific document include:

Nagatomi, 1966. The Arthroceras of the world (Diptera: Rhagionidae). Pacific Insects Volume 8(1): 43-60
Chillcott, 1965. A revision of the eastern Nearctic species of Rhagio Fabricius (Diptera: Rhagionidae). Can. Ent. 97: 785-795.
James, 1964. The Rhagio dimidiatus Group in Western North America (Diptera, Rhagionidae). The Canadian Entomologist 96(3): 550-568.
James, 1965. Some Notes on Rhagio (Diptera: Rhagionidae) of the Western United States and Canada. The Canadian Entomologist 97(3): 333-336.
Leonard, 1930. A revision of the dipterous family Rhagionidae (Leptidae) in the United States and Canada. Mem. Am. ent. Soc., 7, pp.1-181. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/118946#page/11/mode/1up (p111)