Do you have a Stiletto-fly?

This Lucid key is for identifying Australasian flies in the family Therevidae. Some species in certain other families of flies can sometimes be mistaken for Therevids, so it is important to determine whether or not you have a therevid before progressing through the key. Moreover, if you have a therevid collected in a region outside of Australasia, then this key will not work. Below is a set of questions, based on the presence or absence of various characteristics, that are used to differentiate therevids from other flies in Australasia. Go through each one to check to see if you indeed have a therevid.

 

1. Antenna shape:    
THEREVIDAE: 3 main segments; apical style short OTHER: More than 3 main segments OTHER: Arista present

 

2. Empodium:  
THEREVIDAE: Bristleform
OTHER: Pulvilliform

 

3. Wing venation:  
THEREVIDAE: Basic therevid type, wing vein M3 present
OTHER: Wing veins Rs & M curved anteriorly, vein M3 often absent

 

4. Head  
THEREVIDAE: Mystax absent; vertex not excavated
OTHER: Mystax present; vertex excavated