Tephritis divisa

This species isn't covered by the RES key published in 1988 and I think it's a recent colonist. According to Malcolm Storey's A Pictorial Guide to the Tephritidae of Britain and Ireland (written in 2019) there were 75 UK records of divisa between 2000 and 2019 and none before that (I've read elsewhere that the first was in 2004).

I note that Steven Falk's Flickr site aggregates divisa with separata. The RES key includes separata but says there are no confirmed records. The description is based on Continental specimens but it refers to 4 Suffolk specimens thought possibly to be an aberrant form of separata, noting that their wing patterns were similar to leontodontis and neesii (and so presumably at least fairly similar to divisa). If there is a form of separata in the UK that has a wing pattern like divisa, then I don't know how to tell them apart, but Storey also considered the reports of separata as unconfirmed so my working assumption is that if it looks like divisa it is divisa. If you know better please let me know.

This came to light in my garden.

Tephritis divisa, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 24th November 2024