This species is part of a difficult complex of small, black Laphria which are troublesome to identify. Males can be identified by structure of the genitalia, and the presence/absence and shape of small prongs on the posterior margin of the sixth abdominal tergite. They can occasionally be identified from a sharp macro photo (or ideally, a series of photos, or a specimen). Females are essentially unidentifiable without dissection, unless they are collected in copula with a male (hopefully these don't readily hybridize!). Photos that cannot be determined to species (including all females) should be placed in the Laphria canis complex. Thank you.
This common species is extremely similar to the western Laphria franciscana, and was formerly confused with that species. It was described by Stephen Bullington in his 1986 doctoral dissertation (Bullington 1986). Since that work is unpublished, the name he applied may not be valid according to ICZN rules. The full citation is:
Bullington, S.W. (1986) Two new genera related to Laphria Meigen (Diptera: Asilidae), with revisions of the included species in North America north of Mexico. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, 275 pp.
There are 0 records in the project database.
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