edanko's Favorites

Swarming in American White Waterlily bloom. Photographed from a canoe. Dr. Art Borkent provided the following identification and additional information through correspondence with Dr. Terry Galloway:

"They are all female Atrichopogon in the subgenus Psilokempia. There are a fairly large number of cerats [ceratopogonids] that are on flowers and they are important pollinators (e.g. cacao) but there are lots that haven't been studied, including this one, in any detail. Although the phenomenon has been noted a number of times, we're still unsure as to what species it is - admittedly the genus is a mess. Downes thought there were three species of Atrichopogon involved on Nymphea and Nuphar but never proved it (nor published it). Further to this, generally when cerats are on flowers they are there for the sugar rewards. However, a number of Atrichopogon feed on pollen and use it as a protein source to develop their eggs (instead of taking insect haemolymph as other Atrichopogon and its sister genus Forcipomyia do).

Downes 1971 notes these pollen feeding Atrichopogon (misidentified as subgenus Psilohelea) as a brief aside."

Downes, J.A. 1971. The ecology of blood-sucking Diptera: an evolutionary perspective. pp. 232-258 In A.M. Fallis (ed.) Ecology and physiology of parasites: a symposium. Toronto University Press, Toronto.

pic 3-5 are breeding photos (May 30, 2015),
under Betula pendula bark,
det. by John Carr, Dipteraforum:
https://diptera.info/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=93207&highlight=Miastor+metraloas&pid=386894

Note: I have photographed this Hexatomini at Cedar Bog in Champaign County, Ohio for at least 17 years. Always in the same area.
I've added two other observations; one from back in 2004.
Links to those observations:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/88273567
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/84762884
Here's an observation this year (2022) with better pics of wing venation. Same location.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/124010854