Recently I reported on some 'dancing flies' that were spotted on a giant mushroom. Are they fighting or dancing? Well the verdict is in!
Here's a link to the original article:
... and here they are again ...
From Ken Walker (Head of Entomology at the Melbourne Museum) ...
"I believe it is the first time that this species has been photographed and probably the first time that the female (on the left) has been associated with the known male. The species was originally described by Francis Walker back in 1853 and the genus was not again revised until McAlpine and Kent published a paper in 1983. That paper has a key to species which allowed me to determine the species identification. It was fortunate that your images show both sexes as the key is only to one sex - the male. Your photos showing the black spots on the thorax of the fly were diagnostic for this species. Interestingly, while I was delving into the taxonomy of this species, I sent a copy of the image up to the Australian Museum. Fortunately, David McAlpine (now retired) was working in the Museum at the time and was able to confirm my species identification. The genus Tapeigaster, in general, has a well known association with fungi. This species, T. cinctipes is known to occur in NSW, Victoria, Tas and WA."
Ken added, along with the picture below "The key in couplet 9 says: “Mesoscutum pale brownish with a large, round blackish dot before and behind transverse suture on each side”."
Great detective work - and great fun! So they probably are dancing, and sizing up - but not sizing up in a fight for territory.
There is only one previous record of this species on the Atlas of Living Australia, a single male, and amazingly this was collected by a Mr A. Musgrave at Mt Macedon on December 30, 1932:
Here is the updated observation on NatureShare:
It is amazing what is out there waiting to be found.
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