Family: Rhagionidae
Length: males 7-9 mm; females 6-8 mm
This dark member of the genus Rhagio has three dark dorsal stripes on the thorax. The middle stripe typically is divided in two by a thin pale line.
The abdomen has a yellowish ring at the posterior of each segment, or in some specimens the basal segments are largely yellowish with a black dorsal spot and a dark lateral spot.
Rhagio mystaceus has dark wing tips and wings patterned as shown. The front tibia (except the apex) is pale and the middle tibia is usually brown.
The most recent revision of this genus was published while Herbert Hoover was president. The map below is based on data from this 1930 revison. We have added West Virginia based on the photograph shown on this page. We have omitted a 1913 Florida record because it seems questionable in light of the other collection data (Leonard, 1930).
The fly shown at left was photographed near Gaudineer Knob, in the West Virginia highlands along the Pendleton/Randolph County line.
