''Choerades'' is a genus of robber flies described by Francis Walker in 1851, belonging to the family Asilidae, subfamily Laphriinae.

Description

Genus ''Choerades'' is closely related to the genera '' Laphria'' and '' Bombomima''. They can mainly be distinguished by genitalic differences in males, as the shape of the upper forceps or the evolution of lamellae from the fusion of bristles, but also for the length of hairs and bristles on the facial gibbosity. The adults' average sizes reach . These robber flies are quite hairy, their body is usually black, while the bee-mimicking abdomen shows black and yellow stripes. They generally prey on insects of a variety of species, including flies, bees, wasps and beetles.

Distribution

The species of this genus are distributed in most of Europe, the Eastern Palearctic realm, the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

, and the Nearctic realm.

Species

*'' Choerades castellanii'' (Hradský, 1962) *'' Choerades dioctriaeformis'' (Meigen, 1820) *'' Choerades femorata'' (Meigen, 1804) *'' Choerades fimbriata'' (Meigen, 1820) *'' Choerades fortunata'' Baez & Weinberg, 1981 *'' Choerades fuliginosa'' (Panzer, 1798) *'' Choerades fulva'' (Meigen, 1804) *'' Choerades gilvus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *'' Choerades ignea'' (Meigen, 1820) *'' Choerades lapponica'' (Zetterstedt, 1838) *'' Choerades loewi'' (Lehr, 1992) *'' Choerades marginata'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *'' Choerades mouchai'' Hradský, 1985 *'' Choerades rufipes'' (Fallén, 1814) *'' Choerades venatrix'' (Loew, 1847)

References

Fauna Europaea
Fritz Geller-Grimm & M. * J. Smart

* ttp://secretariat.mirror.gbif.org/species/browse/taxon/11348937 Gbif* Nagatomi Akira - ''Japanese Journal of Entomology'
The Status of the Genera ''Laphria'', ''Choerades'' and ''Bombomima''
* Norman T. Baker and Roland L. Fisher - Michigan Entomological Society 197
A Taxonomic and Ecologic Study of the Asilidae of Michigan
* Eugène A. SÉGUY - Diptères-Brachycères. Asilidae, etc. (''Faune de France''. vol. 17.) {{Taxonbar, from=Q5103816 Laphriinae Asilidae genera Articles containing video clips Asilomorph flies of Europe Taxa named by Francis Walker (entomologist)