About Elgiva cucularia (Linnaeus, 1767)
Elgiva cucularia is a species of fly in the family Sciomyzidae. Adult individuals of this species range from 5 to 8 mm in total length. Their bodies are primarily yellowish-brown with a bluish-gray base tone. The head has distinct silky black dots located at the bases of the anterior orbital setae, between the antenna bases and the edges of the compound eyes, and in the center of the occiput. The third antenna segment is slightly shorter than the second. The mesonotum is black, with a grey base color and grey pruinosity. Longitudinal brown stripes run across the dorsum of the thorax: two narrow stripes in the middle and two wide stripes along the sides. There is one mesopleural bristle present among shorter setae, and the prothorax is bare. The wings are yellowish-smoky, between 5.2 and 6.8 mm long, and have fuzzy spots on their front half. The legs and abdomen are yellow, and the abdomen is also rufous. The lower surfaces of the hind femora bear setae, while the lower surfaces of the front femora lack these setae. Larvae of Elgiva cucularia are predators of aquatic pulmonate snails from the families Lymnaeidae, Physidae, and Planorbidae. This species occurs in the Palearctic realm. In Europe, it has been recorded from Portugal, Ireland, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. Its range extends east to Siberia and the Altai, and south to Algeria. This content is translated from the existing Polish Wikipedia article at pl:Elgiva cucularia; see the article's history for attribution. For explanations of morphological terminology used, see Morphology of Diptera.
