About Neoitamus cyanurus (Loew, 1849)
Neoitamus cyanurus (Loew, 1849) can reach a body length of about 12–17 millimetres (0.47–0.67 in) and a wing length of about 8–12 millimetres (0.31–0.47 in). This is a rather large, dark, elongated species. It has strongly angled hair beneath the eyes, piercing and sucking mouthparts in the form of a proboscis, and a gray thorax. The abdomen is very narrow compared to the thorax. The first five abdominal segments are gray. On males, the sixth and seventh abdominal segments are shining steel-blue. On females, these same segments are narrowed to form part of a very long ovipositor. Male claspers are elongated and oblong. The legs are very long, nearly all black, and covered with short, thickened bristles; only the extreme base of the tarsi is orange. This is an eastern Palearctic realm species, with a limited distribution in Europe including Austria, Belgium, the British Isles, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, North European Russia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. It is also present in the Near East and the Oriental realm. This species mainly inhabits spruce forest edges and hedgerows, and can also be found in wooded gardens and parks.
