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Celyphid Beetle Fly
Celyphus sp.
15.4557, 119.922
Field Notes
Description:
This spotting was supposed to show just the first three photos and you could be forgiven for thinking that they are all the same. My idea was to try and illustrate how the proboscis works when the Celyphid is eating, but I noticed that I had a reasonably good posterior view of one of these flies and decided to include it. Then I saw two more flies, further along the same branch and I wondered if they could be juvenile Celyphids as (at least on one of them), you can see what looks like a developing scutellum. I have not been able to uncover any information that might help with this. The life cycle of flies is well documented; eggs > larvae > pupae > adult flies. That's easy enough, but I can't find out if the adult flies are fully developed when they eclose from their pupae, or are they juveniles which develop into adults. So, the two "possible juveniles" have been included in my pictures. If anyone can help with advice on this, I would be very grateful.
Habitat:
These flies were all spotted in our front yard on a Pomelo Tree (Citrus maxima), locally known as Suha. This one is a small tree, growing in a big plant pot. The tree is mostly in good condition except for one branch (and the twigs growing from it) which have lost their leaves and are obviously dead. the thickest part of the branch, near the trunk, is dry and looks lifeless, but the twigs and the thinner end of the branch are slimy and rotting. I don't know if the flies caused this damage or were attracted to the already rotten plant material.
Notes:
My previous spottings of Celyphus sp. are - https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/95... https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/71...
https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1392671969
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