Cantharis cryptica
Separating this species from Cantharis pallida can be a challenge. Most references (but not Hackston) place emphasis on the elytral pubescence, all one length in pallida and a mix of long suberect hairs and short recumbent hairs in cryptica - and this does seem to be the easiest way of separating them in my experience (except perhaps for male genitalia). However none of the references I have seen acknowledge the presence of additional scattered erect dark hairs or bristles (maybe they're technically bristles so deemed irrelevant, but I'm never sure how the layman is meant to tell a stiff hair from a thin bristle). All the specimens of both species I've examined recently have had these, and in my opinion this could lead pallida to be misidentified as cryptica. Helpfully Duff includes diagrams of the hairs of the two species and although these diagrams do not show the erect hairs/bristles, the hairs shown are all clearly suberect at most.
I have encountered considerably more cryptica than pallida.
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male Cantharis cryptica showing elytral hairs and genital capsule, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 12th June 2022
Any differences from pallida in the shape of the females' apical sternite do not seem obvious to me. Here they are less pointed than shown in Duff, but the elytral hairs confirmed it was cryptica.
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female Cantharis cryptica showing elytral hairs and apical sternite, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 26th May 2023
On this one the apical sternite is damaged but you can see the pair of central lobes and these are nowhere near as pronounced as they are shown in Duff.
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female Cantharis cryptica showing elytral hairs and (damaged) apical sternite, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 17th May 2023
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female Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 4th June 2022
The male genitalia of cryptica and pallida are quite distinct with the deeply concave dorsal plate of cryptica. Once the genital capsule is removed it may not be easy to see which side is dorsal, so both orientations are shown here.
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male Cantharis cryptica showing elytal hairs and genitalia, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 20th May 2024
I'm not sure how consistent the difference in palps is, but at least some cryptica can show darker-tipped palps - however I'm not sure if this darkening occurs after death on poorly-preserved specimens? Maybe the undarkened palps of crytica is more reliable on live/well-preserved specimens?
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male Cantharis cryptica showing elytral hairs, palps and genital capsule (2 views), North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 12th May 2022
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2x male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 18th June 2023
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male Cantharis cryptica showing elytral hairs and genital capsule, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 30th June 2023
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male Cantharis cryptica showing elytral hairs (2 views), genital capsule and palps, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 7th June 2022
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male Cantharis cryptica showing genital capsule, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 8th May 2018
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 10th June 2023
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2x male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 11th June 2020
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male Cantharis cryptica showing palps, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 23rd May 2020
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 24th July 2021
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 24th July 2018
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 26th June 2021
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 4th June 2023
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Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows (Norfolk, UK), 25th May 2020
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Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 11th July 2020
Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 16th June 2017
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Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 16th May 2017
Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 17th June 2017
Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 5th June 2022
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Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 7th June 2022
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Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 9th June 2016
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male Cantharis cryptica showing genital capsule (2 views), North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 26th May 2022
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male Cantharis cryptica showing genital capsule, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 8th June 2022
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 18th July 2018
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 17th June 2018
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 18th June 2018
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 18th June 2019
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 19th June 2018
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 19th June 2019
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male Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 2nd June 2021
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female Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 2nd June 2019