Atherix ibis

Description

Atherix ibis, the yellow-legged water-snipefly, is a species of ibis flies belonging to the family Athericidae, a small family very similar to Rhagionidae (Snipe Flies). This species is present in most of Europe and in the Palearctic realm up to Japan. These flies inhabit rivers with a clean and gentle to fast-flowing current. Atherix ibis can reach a length of 9–11 millimetres (0.35–0.43 in). These flies have a broad-built and slightly hairy body. The thorax is black and has two gray, narrow longitudinal stripes and a gray lateral band. In the male the abdomen is orange-brown with black markings, The female has a black abdomen with gray margins. The wings are large and strongly patterned, with dark brown veins. The legs are slim and yellow-brown colored. At the head there are the short, thick proboscis as well as the green compound eyes. Females of this species are very similar to Ibisia marginata, but the latter has entirely black legs. The larvae of these flies are greenish-brown and reach a length of up to 20 millimeters. They have seven pairs of abdominal prolegs on the last segment.