Axysta cesta
Taxonomy
This page represents the following TreeOfLife-200M taxonomic path.[1]
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Diptera
- Family: Ephydridae
- Genus: Axysta
- Species: Axysta cesta
Visual Description
Axysta cesta is a small shore-fly. Based on observations from the TreeOfLife-200M dataset, the adult exhibits a dark, generally metallic appearance. The body is compact, typical of many Ephydridae, with a robust thorax and abdomen. The wings are relatively clear or lightly infuscated, with a brown to light brown costa.[1]
Morphological studies indicate that the female abdomen is typically metallic blue. The anterior two-thirds of the anepimeron are shining and generally lack microtrichia. The hind metatarsus is typically yellow to light brown, contrasting with the hind tibia, and the knees may also be yellow.[2]
Biology and Distribution
Axysta cesta (Haliday, 1833) is a shore-fly species within the tribe Hyadinini (subfamily Ilytheinae). It is widely distributed across the Palaearctic region, with the majority of records concentrated in central and northern Europe.
Adults show a strong preference for wetlands with dense vegetation, including forested areas. They are thought to hibernate and can be observed early in the year. While larval biology remains poorly understood, larvae of a Nearctic population have been documented associated with colonies of the cyanobacterium Lyngbya sp. on moist tree leaves near shaded ponds.
Gallery
References
- 1 2 Dataset view for Animalia / Arthropoda / Insecta / Diptera / Ephydridae / Axysta / cesta constructed from imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M records under this taxonomic path. Hugging Face Datasets. https://huggingface.co/datasets/imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M.
- ↑ Jens‐Hermann Stuke. A second European Axysta species (Diptera: Ephydridae). Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 2022. https://doi.org/10.17109/azh.68.2.159.2022.