''Ceratophya'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

hoverflies Hoverflies, also called flower flies or syrphids, make up the insect family (biology), family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen Hover (behaviour), hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed main ...

, with five known species. They are distinct from ''

Microdon Hover flies (family Syrphidae) of the genus ''Microdon'' are unusual among the Fly, Diptera. Like other members of the subfamily, they are myrmecophiles, meaning they inhabit the nests of ants. There are 249 species known worldwide, with the gr ...

'' by the presence of an appendix on vein R4+5. Many species have erroneously been placed in this genus. Some authors place ''Ceratophya'' as a subgenus of ''Microdon''.

Biology

Larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e are found in

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

nests.

Distribution

Distribution is

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

Species

There are five known species as of 2013: *'' C. argentinensis'' Reemer, 2013 *'' C. carinifacies'' ( Curran, 1934) *'' C. notata'' Wiedemann, 1824 *'' C. panamensis'' (Curran, 1930) *'' C. scolopus'' (Shannon, 1927)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5063797 Hoverfly genera Diptera of North America Microdontinae Taxa named by Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann