''Platycheirus discimanus'', the Yellowfoot Sedgesitter is a small

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

hoverfly Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while ...

. It is found across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

and in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Description

For terminology
Speight key to genera and glossary
br> Length:
Diagnosis of MALE: The face projects ventrally and dorsally with shallow median keel or ridges. It is gray pollinose except for the bare tubercle and gena. The posterior oral margin is produced forward. The legs are mostly dark, with the first two tarsomeres of the front and middle legs being pale. The front trochanter has many short, black, ventral setulae, and the front tibia has a fine, wavy pile underneath up to three times the width of the tibia. The first front tarsomere is subtriangular, truncate apically, about twice as wide as the apex of the tibia, and as long as wide. The second front tarsomere is nearly rectangular, three-fourths as wide as the first tarsomere and one-fourth as long. The other front tarsomeres are not modified. The middle tibia has dense, wavy anteroventral pile on the basal third, at the longest approximately four times the tibial diameter, and similar but fewer posterior pile on the middle third. The first middle tarsomere is laterally compressed, more than twice as deep as wide, while the second tarsomere is less strongly compressed. The remaining middle tarsomeres are unmodified. The first tarsomere of the hind leg is strongly swollen, about three times as long as its deepest point. The legs are otherwise unmodified. The thorax has dense pile, as long as the arista, and varies from white to dark brown. It is thinly gray pollinose, with bare shining areas between upper and lower pile patches on the katepisternum and on the anterior half of the posterior anepisternum. The halter is yellow, and the wing is completely microtrichose. The abdomen is narrow, with spots of tergites gray and overlaid with strong silver pollinosity
external image
Female: The female is not distinguishable from other species of ''Platycheirus''. See references for

determination Determination is a positive emotional feeling that involves persevering towards a difficult goal in spite of obstacles.Kirby, L.D., Morrow, J., & Yih, J. (2014). The challenge of challenge: Pursuing determination as an emotion. In M. M. Tugade, ...

Distribution

: South Norway south to Belgium and France and the Alps, Ireland east through Northern Europe and Central Europe into Russia and on through Siberia to the Russian Far East and the Pacific coast at Sakhalin, Afghanistan, Mongolia and China.

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

: Central Canada and Pennsylvania

Fauna Europaea Fauna Europaea is a database of the scientific names and distribution of all living multicellular European land and fresh-water animals. It serves as a standard taxonomic source for animal taxonomy within the Pan-European Species directories Infras ...

.Peck, L.V. (1988). "Syrphidae". In: Soos, A. & Papp, L. (eds.) ''Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera'' 8: 11-230. Akad. Kiado, Budapest.

Biology

Habitat: It lives in deciduous forest and scrub; scrub-invaded grassland. Flies April to end May.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platycheirus Discimanus Diptera of Europe Diptera of North America Syrphinae Insects described in 1871 Taxa named by Hermann Loew