Dark aphid hover fly
| Dark aphid hover fly | ||||||||||||
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Dark aphid hover fly, male |
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| Parasyrphus lineolus | ||||||||||||
| ( Zetterstedt , 1843) |
The dark aphid hover fly ( Parasyrphus lineolus ) is a fly from the family of hover flies (Syrphidae).
features
With a body length of 8 to 10 mm, the species is one of the medium-sized hoverflies. The antennae are dark brown to black, the eyes hairless. There is a black central welt on the dark yellow face. In the females, the forehead is dark and the sides lightly pollinated. The mesonotum is shiny metallic black. The label is hairy black and red-yellow. The medium-wide black abdomen is curved at the edges and has two yellow spots on the second segment. Yellow bands can be seen on the third and fourth segments. The wings are slightly brownish and have a black-brown rim. With the exception of the completely black rear legs, the legs are black-brown, the approaches of the front and middle rails and the joints are lighter. The dark aphid fly can be confused with the species light aphid fly ( Parasyrphus annulatus ), which however has lighter antennae and legs, and with Parasyrphus vittiger the dark antennae, a yellowish wing mark (pterostigma) and light legs.
Occurrence
It is common in Europe, Siberia, China and North America. In Central Europe it is not uncommon in the mountains. Prefers coniferous forest (fir, spruce) and conifer plantations, there on the edge of the forest and in clearings. They fly from April to July, at higher altitudes even until August.
Way of life
The adults move most of their life on trees or bushes (arboreal). But they also fly down to visit flowers, there on umbellifers but also on bloodroot, blackberry and raspberry. Wanderart as well as oligovoltin with 2–3 generations per year. The larvae feed on aphids (zoophage) and can be found up to the crown of the spruce. Some of the larvae overwinter in dead plant material on the forest floor.
swell
- Olaf Bastian: Hoverflies . Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei Vol. 576 Westarp Sciences, Magdeburg 1994, ISBN 3-89432-469-4
- Kurt Kormann: Hover flies and bubble-head flies of Central Europe . Fauna Naturführer Volume 1, Fauna-Verlag, Nottuln 2002, ISBN 3-935980-29-9
- Speight, MCD, Castella, E., Sarthou, J.-P. & Monteil, C. (eds.): Syrph the Net on CD, Issue 7. The database of European Syrphidae. ISSN 1393-4546 . Syrph the Net Publications, Dublin.
Web links
- Parasyrphus lineolus in Fauna Europaea