• Question from:Lian van den Heever

Good Day,
Picture 1
I photographed this insect in the Gauteng Province of South Africa during summer . It was collecting nectar . Could you please provide me with the Genus and species name as well ?

Picture 2
I photographed this insect in the Western region of the Free State Province of South Africa during summer. Could you please provide me with the Genus and species name as well ?

Regards.
Lian van den Heever

Post's pictures

IMG_0097_web.jpg, 107.36 kb, 800 x 586

IMG_0415-web.jpg, 64.53 kb, 773 x 600

Photo
  • Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  • Posts: 230

The top photo is of a hover fly (Syrphidae), the bottom photo is of a robber fly (Asilidae). I don't know which species they belong to, but you could start at some of the great online resources you have available in South Africa, such as Biodiversity Explorer

http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/fli … /index.htm


The hover fly looks very similar to Eristalis tenax, a European hover fly which has been introduced to South Africa, but making species-level identifications from photos is always problematic, as key diagnostic features are usually not visible.

Photo
  • CEH Wallingford & Oxford University
  • Posts: 192

For species-level ID of South African wildlife you're better off posting the pictures on the South African version of iSpot, www.ispot.org.za. Top photo's not Eristalis tenax, which is common here - wing veination looks wrong for Syrphidae in general, though I don't know the tropical fauna

Photo
  • Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  • Posts: 230

Thanks Richard, good spot.  In that case try the Tabanidae, or horse-flies, many of which are important pollinators.