A medium sized (3.5-4mm) ‘picture-winged’ barkfly. Common throughout Britain and Ireland.
The forewing of both sexes has a characteristic pattern of indistinct patches. Only Philotarsus species have the colourless area at the end of the pterostigma cell.
There is a rectangular brown patch on the upperside of the abdomen. There are usually small pale areas within the patch but they do not form longitudinal stripes (cf. P. picicornis).
Female
The side lobes of the subgenital plate tend to be narrower in the middle than either end (cf. P. picicornis). Compare with similar species
