I suspect you'll recall where I am, Eric, but for the record all three of the flies in this and the previous two posts are in Georgia. That's a Lantana leaf they are perched on (after all, I was mainly working on butterflies).
How are you on identifying dragonflies and ants. I sure haven't yet found a dependable, illustrated guide for either.
Thanks again,
ACB
Hm-m-m. Reminds me a little of something in the Drosophilidae, but that is at best an educated guess. Size estimate?
Eric
Hmmm... size... now we have to rely on my less than dependable memory. Body length as I recall between 8-12 mm, though that may be too ambiguous. I'll go to bugguide.net with the genus you've suggested. Thanks.
I remember hearing from someone that this book was pretty good (and it's for your area, too): "Dragonflies and Damselflies of Georgia and the Southeast" by Giff Beaton. I don't own it, so can't comment other than that.Originally Posted by acbaker
"Ants of North America: A Guide to the Genera" by Brian Fisher & Stefan Cover might be a good choice as an ant field guide. I don't own that one either (really the only insect books I have are just spider books that have an insect section, haha)... but E.O. Wilson gave it a good review, as did David Richman (an entomologist/arachnologist).
If anyone else reading this thread has these books, any comments on how helpful they are? I myself am actually interested in that ant one and might get it someday just to get an overview of what the diagnostic features are for each family/genus. I can rightly be considered a "noob" when it comes to arthropods that aren't spiders.
Quick links: SPECIES GUIDES ║ SPIDER IDENTIFICATION GUIDE ║ FAQ ║ GLOSSARY
Thanks, Mandy... Both books are now on my Amazon wish list.
I can say that Fisher and Cover is an outstanding guide, though it only takes you to genus. Gif Beaton is a "virtual" friend, but I would expect anything he produces to be thorough.
Eric
Thanks also to you, Eric. Now all I'll have to do is learn to use them.
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