Phaonia pallida (Fabricius)

Michelsen, Verner & Pont, Adrian C., 2024, Macaronesian Muscidae (Diptera). V. The genera Phaonia Robineau-Desvoidy and Muscina Robineau-Desvoidy, Zootaxa 5458 (4), pp. 581-596 : 592

7. Phaonia pallida (Fabricius)

Phaonia pallida (Fabricius) ; Séguy 1936: 23 (Azores).

Description. Medium sized, wing length 6.0–7.1 mm. Male: Ground colour of head, body and appendages usually wholly yellow to ochre yellow except for a distally darkened postpedicel and dark brown tarsi; occational males show further darkening of the thorax affecting discal area of mesonotum and parts of pleura; without shadowing of cross-veins r-m and m-cu. Eyes densely pilose. Arista plumose, longest aristal branches as long as width of postpedicel; frons at narrowest point 1–2 times as wide as anterior ocellus with fronto-orbital plates contiguous or nearly so. Dorsocentral setae 2 + 4; acrostichal setae 2–3 + 2–3 (including prescutellar); notopleuron without setulae; prealar seta fully as long as posterior notopleural seta; katepisternal setae 1 + 2; katepimeron with some setulae; meron bare. Wing with a few setulae ventrally on radial node and basal part of vein R4+5. Fore tibia without p seta; mid tibia with 0 ad and 3 p setae; hind femur with complete row of av setae and pv setae confined to basal half; hind tibia with 2–3 av and 2–3 ad setae. Female: Apart from usual sexual differences of the head and abdomen, differing from the male by much shorter pile on eyes and with only a few short basal pv setae on hind femur.

Distribution. A common and widespread W Palaearctic species. The only Macaronesian record (Azores: São Miguel) is based on Séguy (1936).