Soldier Flies, Stratiomyidae, are a group of True Flies, Diptera, with a global distribution. The adults are rather inactive, and do not stay far from the environments where the larvae are found, in wetlands, damp soil or similar. Soldier Flies are rather variable in both size and shape, though they always have antennae with three segments, and are often metallic green in colour.
In a paper published in the journal Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Prague on 26 November 2018, Rudolf Rozkošný and Jaromir Vaňhara of the Department of Botany and Zoology at Masaryk University, describe a new species of Soldier Fly from Mongolia.
The new species is placed in the genus Nemotelus, and given the specific name nartshukae, in honour of Emilia Nartshuk of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, for her work on Soldier Flies. The species is described from three specimens, a male collected from the Dalbay Valley in northern Mongolia, and a male and a female collected from a salt lake in Hovd Province. These flies are 6.5-6.7 mm in length, and black in colour with large eyes and yellow markings on their legs.
Nemotelus nartshukae, abdomens detached. (17) Male, lateral view; (18) male, dorsal view; (19) female, lateral view; (20) female, dorsal view. Both specimens without abdomen. Igor Malenovský in Rozkošný & Vaňhara (2018).
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