Conops flavifrons, Meigen, 1804

Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2016, Taxonomic notes on Western Palaearctic Conopidae (Diptera), Zootaxa 4178 (4), pp. 521-534 : 523

C. flavifrons Meigen, 1804

Conops flavifrons Meigen, 1804: 281 ; type-locality: “Lyon” [ France]; syntypus 1♂ 1♀ [MNHN]

Diagnosis. Body completely black to mainly orange-brown, without yellow markings. Antenna more or less black. Palps absent. Labium distinctly longer than head length. No spot laterally on the border between frons and face. Face uniformly whitish yellow to yellowish brown. Parafacia and antennal grooves, but not the gena, dusted. Frons with distinct transverse grooves; ridge between vertex and frons with several fine longitudinal grooves which may be inconspicuous. Thorax more extensively black (can be completely black), scutum black up to scutellum. Stripe of dense dusting from mid coxa to notopleuron. Legs uniformly orange to brown, with black tarsi. Posterior surfaces of fore and middle tibiae with flattened, densely dusted fields. At least apical two-thirds of middle femur posteriorly with a row of regularly arranged, long black hairs. Wing completely hyaline to slightly infuscated, without distinct markings. Wing cells br and bm more or less without microtrichia. Tergite 2 distinctly (♂) or slightly (♀) narrower than tergite 4. Tergite 4 slightly dusted at hind margin. Short, blunt spicules on posterior surface of theca not arranged in palisade groups or in close-set, broken horizontal lines.

= C. longiventris Kröber, 1915 syn. nov.

Conops longiventris Kröber, 1915b: 57 –58; type-locality: “Pola”; holotypus ♂ [NMW ]

Conops longiventris is described as a small blackish Conops with a completely black body. Numerous specimens of C. flavifrons have these characters and there are many intermediates. Although the holotype has not been investigated, C. longiventris is herewith placed as a junior synonym of C. flavifrons .