Pachygaster leachii

Pachygaster leachii, the yellow-legged black, is a European species of soldier fly.^[7][8][9]

Pachygaster leachii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Stratiomyidae
Subfamily:	Pachygastrinae
Genus:	Pachygaster
Species:	P. leachii
Binomial name
Pachygaster leachii Stephens in Curtis, 1824[1]
Synonyms
Pachygaster pallipennis Macquart, 1834[2] Pachygaster pallidipennis Meigen, 1838[3] Pachygaster flavipes Costa, 1845[4] Pachygaster teachi Brunetti, 1889[5] Pachygaster angustifrons Krivosheina, 2004[6]

Description

A minute fly of brilliant black color with a round abdomen and a body length of around 2.5-3.5 mm. The eyes are brown-red in males and obscure green in females. Both males and females have yellow antennae. The legs are of a pale yellow with a blackish ring, sometimes quite wide, at the apex of femora III. It has yellowish wings with pale veins. The halteres are yellowish-brown at the base.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Biology

The habitat is woodland with oak and elm. Associated with alder, hazel. The flight period is from June to August.

Distribution

Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales, Yugoslavia.