Hesse (1969) redescribed this species as follows: Body mainly dark or black; middle part of face (clypeus) either entirely, or on sides to a variable extent, yellowish, yellowish brownish to reddish brownish, sometimes entirely dark or black; sides of vertex, especially in some females, reddish or dark reddish; following parts yellowish or yellowish reddish; humeral tubercles to a variable extent, broadish sides of thorax, postalar calli, base of thorax, two submedial streaks on disc of thorax (especially in female, but sometimes evanescent or absent in both sexes), sides of metanotum to a variable extent (sometimes much reduced, only spot-like or even absent), area in front of halteres, posterior metapleural part to a variable extent or not at all, sides of tergites 1 and 2 or 3 broadly in both sexes (in some forms), to a variable extent extreme narrow sides of rest of tergites or infusions at their posterior angles laterally, especially in some males (sometimes entire sides of abdomen dark or black in both sexes), greater part of or entire venter, or only its basal half to a variable extent in males and ventral part of genital segment; hind margins of tergites 2-5 (or 6), and sometimes of 7 obscurely or even of both 6 and 7, in o* and 2-4 (or sometimes also 5) in female broadly and conspicuously yellowish whitish or yellowish, usually more whitish, base bordered with some orange, often with 2 and 3 very conspicuous, or in some cases with the hind margins even obscure, darkened or yellowish whitish only on sides; hind margin of tergite 1 sometimes also narrowly or obscurely yellowish; bullae fairly large, broad, oval, yellowish- or ochreous brownish to brownish; legs, excluding reddish brownish, dark or blackish coxae, more often mainly or even entirely yellowish, but femora and tibiae darkened to a variable extent in some forms even mainly dark in female of some forms, only their bases and knees being yellowish. Integument of head in front, postalar calli, to a variable extent extreme sides of thorax above, scutellum, pleurae, abdomen and coxae shining; disc of thorax dulled by three broadish streaks of vermicellate rugulose sculpture, separated by two submedial streaks of coarser rugulose sculpture, the extreme sides of thorax in notopleural part, posterior to anterior spiracle, markedly broad, especially in female, broader than in the other species with non-sculptured thorax, shining and rather conspicuously transversely grooved; metanotum dull rugulosely sculptured; hind margins of all tergites in male from extreme hind margins; abdomen in female with the last two segments and to a variable extent side with broadish an conspicuous bands of silvery tomentum which is more intense across the extreme hind margins; abdomen in female with the last two segments and to a variable extent sides of some of the others transversely wrinkled or striate, the last one being coarsely so, and with some scattered setiferous punctures, often visible discally on 4-6. Vestiture distinctly denser and longer in male, that on tergites 1 and 2, especially in male, also longish, with all the hairs mainly snow-whitish in both sexes, but those on last two abdominal segments in female slightly more sericeous yellowish, or sometimes even yellowish; hairs on legs longish, much denser in male, the hind femora in female with relatively few longish ones and these mainly above, and hind tibiae with some longish hairs only along inner aspect, much fewer and sparser in female; the hairs on legs also mainly snow whitish, but short ones on hind femora in female and on apical parts or halves of hind tibiae in both sexes tinted yellowish or fulvous to a variable extent; spines and spicules on legs yellowish, yellowish reddish, to dark reddish, the spines on hind femora in some females sometimes even dark or blackish brownish. Head with the antennae much longer than thorax and scutellum together; segment 1 not much or scarcely thickened, about 2.2-3 times length of 2; segment 3 elongate, slightly thickened apically, much longer than club; latter elongate-pyriform, constricted at base; proboscis subequal in length to, or sometimes even slightly longer than, antennae, its labella rather coarsely transversely rugulose; palps distinct, longer than antennal segment 2. Wings distinctly tinted yellowish brownish to brownish to a variable extent in little more than anterior half to opposite level of apex of marginal or first submarginal cells, though in some males sometimes scarcely indicated, extending apically also along basal part or half of upper vein of first posterior cell, including base of latter, and in female the infusion in costal cell often extending to its apex, with the hinder half more greyish hyaline or faintly greyish yellowish; an infusion often more intense along the veins in tinted part, especially in female, in which it is often very much darker or even blackish brown, leaving in both sexes, but especially in female, the middle parts of cells, especially lower apical part of first submarginal cell, clear, which latter cell in some specimens, especially some males, is often entirely clear, giving the infusion in wings an apically bifurcate or forked appearance (as described by both Wiedemann and Macquart); apex of wings usually slightly milky whitish; veins yellowish to even dark brownish; apex of third posterior cell broader than that of doscoidal cell; halteres yellowish. Legs with the hind femora only slightly, not conspicuously, thickened, differing in this respect from other South African species, thickest slightly beyond middle, their upper surfaces more or less straight, their double row of spines below from just before middle or from near base; tibiae without distinct spicules along lower faces, but hind ones in female with a few near apex. Oviscape in female with 7-1 1 yellowish reddish to fulvous spines on a side. Hypopygium of male with the lower part of broadened apical part of the processes of sternite 9 distinctly sharply angular, not rounded; aedeagal apparatus and phallic tubes stethoscope-like as described for Cephalocera, the tubes with an elbow-like bend near apex. Length of body: about 11-17 mm; Length of wing: about 7-13 mm.

The species differs from all the other known species of Cephalocera by its distinctly less thickened and comparatively longer hind femora and to a certain extent the markedly broad, transversely grooved sides, or notopleural part, of thorax in front of the wing-bases. As is to be expected from a species so widely distributed it is variable in size, the color of its clypeus, the presence or absence of reddish on sides of thorax and sides of abdomen basally, the darkening of the legs, especially the femora, and the intensity of the infuscation in the wings, especially in the males (Hesse 1969).

Type locality: South Africa, Western Cape 'Vom Kap' (= Cape of Good Hope).

South Africa.

Hesse (1969) described this species as the commonest and most widely distributed species of Mydaidae in the Western Cape, and Namaqualand. It is found at Citrusdal along the broad coastal part and Olifants River Valley to Namaqualand, and eastwards into southern Bushmanland, during September to November. (One specimen in the South African Museum from French Hoek Pass in the Villiersdorp division may have been wrongly labelled).

The information below was extracted from Cannings and Scudder (2005): Dipterans are primarily aerial insects and the mesothorax, which bears the only pair of wings, dominates the thorax - the prothorax and metathorax are greatly reduced. The legs are normally rather simple and are used primarily for perching; in some groups, they are modified for prey capture or for signaling during courtship. The tarsi are nearly always 5-segmented. The functional wings are membranous and their pattern of veins is critical in fly classification and identification. During the evolution of flies, there has been a trend towards a reduction in veins, especially in the rear half of the wing – changes that evidently relate to improvements in two-winged flight. The hindwings, present in most other insects, are reduced in Diptera to small, club-like organs, called halteres, used for stabilising flight.

Herbivore - Nectarivore (nectar-eating)

The flies in this family are not known to hunt, catch or prey upon other insects as asilids do. They are however known to imbibe on the flower nectar especially Afroleptomydas and Cephalocera. These species sometimes visit flowers, especially those of species of Mesembryanthemum (Hesse 1969).

Like the others, flies in the Mydidae family begin life as an egg, which hatches into a grublike larva. Most of the fly life is spent in the larval stage, mainly eating and growing as well as molting several times. Some flies may spend at least a year as a larva. The next stage is a pupa, during which the insect transforms into its final stage, emerging from the pupa as a winged adult, able to mate and reproduce. In many species, males stake out positions at favourable egg-laying sites and wait for females to arrive (Hesse 1969).

Individuals of this group are mainly collected in August to November (few records in December) (Kirk-Spriggs and Sinclair 2017).

Fynbos and Succulent Karoo.