Lispe tentaculata

Distinguished from congeners by male fore tarsal modification: tarsomere 1 with dense brush-like anteroventral setulae and finger-like yellow process with black apex. Cercal plates and sternite 5 structure differ from similar species; sternite 5 with specific external and internal median process morphology. Leg chaetotaxy pattern unique within genus: t1 without setae, t2 with only p-seta, t3 with 1 ad and 1 weak pd. Use revised key in Vikhrev (2011) for species-group identification.

Medium-sized muscid fly. Meron setulose above hind coxa. Leg chaetotaxy diagnostic: fore tibia without setae; mid tibia with only posterior seta, lacking anterodorsal or anteroventral setae; hind tibia with one anterodorsal and one weak posterodorsal seta, lacking anteroventral seta. Male fore tarsus modified: tarsomere 1 yellow to dark, half as long as tarsomere 2, bearing dense brush-like anteroventral setulae and a finger-like yellow process with black apex extending to middle of tarsomere 2; tarsomeres 2-4 yellow, tarsomere 5 black; tarsomere 2 projecting ventrally.

Stones on river banks, pond and pool silt, forest streams. Associated with freshwater riparian environments and moist substrates.

Holarctic. Palearctic distribution widespread from Iberian Peninsula to Kamchatka Peninsula. Recorded in Europe: Greece, Latvia, Portugal, Netherlands, Ukraine, Russia; Asia: Abkhazia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia (Altai, Amur, Kamchatka, Khanty-Mansi, Krasnoyarsk, Magadan, Omsk, Primorsky). Also recorded from Madeira Archipelago (Madeira Island, Porto Santo Island).

Males use modified fore tarsi, possibly in courtship or mate recognition. Specific function of tarsal brush-like setulae and finger-like process unconfirmed.

• Lispe consanguineaOverlapping Palearctic distribution; distinguished by male cercal plate structure and sternite 5 morphology.
• Lispe draperiSimilar male fore tarsal modification; differs in sternite 5 structure and distribution (North Africa vs. widespread Palearctic).
• Lispe sericipalpisFormerly confused due to synonymy issues; distinguished by male genitalic characters and southern Palearctic/Oriental distribution.

• Muscidae
• Diptera
• Holarctic
• Palearctic
• riparian
• freshwater
• male dimorphism
• tarsal modification

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Bug Eric: City Nature Challenge 2023 Recap
• Review of the Palaearctic members of the Lispe tentaculata species-group (Diptera, Muscidae): revised key, synonymy and notes on ecology
• Figure 1 from: Vikhrev N (2011) Review of the Palaearctic members of the Lispe tentaculata species-group (Diptera, Muscidae): revised key, synonymy and notes on ecology. ZooKeys 84: 59-70. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.84.819
• Figure 2 from: Vikhrev N (2011) Review of the Palaearctic members of the Lispe tentaculata species-group (Diptera, Muscidae): revised key, synonymy and notes on ecology. ZooKeys 84: 59-70. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.84.819
• Figure 5 from: Vikhrev N (2011) Review of the Palaearctic members of the Lispe tentaculata species-group (Diptera, Muscidae): revised key, synonymy and notes on ecology. ZooKeys 84: 59-70. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.84.819
• Figure 6 from: Vikhrev N (2011) Review of the Palaearctic members of the Lispe tentaculata species-group (Diptera, Muscidae): revised key, synonymy and notes on ecology. ZooKeys 84: 59-70. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.84.819
• Figure 4 from: Vikhrev N (2011) Review of the Palaearctic members of the Lispe tentaculata species-group (Diptera, Muscidae): revised key, synonymy and notes on ecology. ZooKeys 84: 59-70. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.84.819
• Figure 3 from: Vikhrev N (2011) Review of the Palaearctic members of the Lispe tentaculata species-group (Diptera, Muscidae): revised key, synonymy and notes on ecology. ZooKeys 84: 59-70. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.84.819
• Lispe Latreille (Diptera, Muscidae) from the Macaronesian Islands with a key to species and redescription of Lispe nana Macquart