Anaceratagallia ribauti

Formerly treated as part of the genus Agallia.

Females of this genus are particularly difficult to identify. This one came to light and I was able to eliminate Agallia consibrina from the striations on the pronotum and the fact that the dark spots in the sides of the scutellum went right to the edge (although there did seem to be a narrow pale area between these and the wings, but on close examination I don't think this was part of the scutellum itself).

The RES key does provide some clues to female species ID relating to the closeness of the tubercles on the forewing, the prominence and sharpness of the veins and the darkening of the seventh sternite, but I was not able to judge these without any comparative material. I also note that none of these are mentioned in Biedermann & Niedringhaus so I'm not sure if they consider them to be reliable anyway? Unable to resolve it I kept the specimen until I could find a confirmed male to compare it to.

I didn't have to wait long because I caught two males and a female by suction from the very same spot the next month (see below). Based on those, the males of which were confirmed as ribauti, and the female of which had exactly the same forewing cell structure as this one, I'm content that this was also ribauti.

female Anaceratagallia ribauti showing close-up of vertex and pronotum, pronotum and scutellum, sternites, forewing and forewing cell texture, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 11th August 2025

These three were found by suction. The two males were easy as the aedeagus and appendages of the anal tube are very distinctive. This one was 2.5mm long.

male Anaceratagallia ribauti showing pronotum, apex of abdomen from below and side, aedeagus, appendage of anal tube and forewing cell texture, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 26th September 2025

The second male was 2.9mm long.

second male Anaceratagallia ribauti showing appendage of anal tube and aedeagus, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 26th September 2025

I had imagined that comparing the wing texture of the confirmed males might help confirm the identity of the females, assuming that males and females share the same wing texture. But the RES key only refers to this for females and I'm not sure they are exactly the same. Anyway, I think it's probably safe to assume that the female was the same species as the two males it was caught with from exactly the same spot. This one was a fraction under 3.0mm long.

female Anaceratagallia ribauti showing pronotum (from above and side) and forewing cell texture (two views), Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 26th September 2025

This female was suctioned from a nearby site the same day as the last ones.

female Anaceratagallia ribauti showing pronotum and forewing cell texture, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 26th September 2025