Conicera similis (Haliday, 1833)

Mostovski, Mike B., 2016, A review of scuttle fly genera of Israel (Diptera: Phoridae), with new records and an identification key, Zootaxa 4137 (1), pp. 61-72 : 64

Conicera similis (Haliday, 1833)

Material. Israel: 1♂ Havat Matityahu [nr Bar'am, 33°03'52"N 35°27'13"E], 10.ii.2016, on Tuber aestivum ; 2♂ Almagor [32°55'N 35°36'E], 7–30.iv.2011, W. Kuslitzky, Malaise trap; 1♂ Ma'agan Mikha'el [32°33'N 34°55'E], 1–9.iii.2009, W. Kuslitzky, Malaise trap.

Remarks. There is certain variability in the size and shape of the sensory organ situated in the distal half of the mid tibia in this European species ( Mostovski & Disney, 2003). However, the sensory organ opening and associated apical process of C. similis are consistently smaller than those of C. tibialis .

Of particular interest is record of C. similis on the summer truffle Tuber aestivum commercially grown in northern Israel. Unlike in Megaselia , association of Conicera species with fungi is sporadic and infrequent. Conicera similis is probably the only species in the genus to be known for such relationship; it has been so far recorded from Boletus rhodoxanthus , Pluteus cervinus and Tuber aestivum ( Disney 1994; Disney & Evans 1988).