''Chrysotoxum cautum'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

hoverfly Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while ...

. It is found in southern

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

East into the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Si ...

but is normally encountered in small numbers. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e are thought to feed on root

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A ...

s. Adults are usually found on the edges of woodland or scrub or along hedgerows where they visit a wide range of flowers.

Identification

External images
For terms see

Morphology of Diptera Dipteran morphology differs in some significant ways from the broader morphology of insects. The Diptera is a very large and diverse order of mostly small to medium-sized insects. They have prominent compound eyes on a mobile head, and (at most) ...

Wing length 10·25–13 mm. Orange stigma.Apical antennomere as long as antennomeres 1 and 2 together. Abdomen relatively flat. The genitalia are exceptionally large and reach over the hind margin of sternite 4. Keys and accounts *Coe R.L. (1953) Syrphidae *Van Veen, M. (2004) ''Hoverflies of Northwest Europe'' *Van der Goot,V.S. (1981) ''De zweefvliegen van Noordwest - Europa en Europees Rusland, in het bijzonder van de Benelux'' *Bei-Bienko, G.Y. & Steyskal, G.C. (1988) Keys to USSR insects. Diptera

Distribution

Europe East across the

to Greece and Turkey and into Russia as far as the Altai mountains and Mongolia. ParcoCaffarella5

Biology

Habitat is deciduous forest and scrub, unimproved grassland and lightly grazed grassland, open areas in forest or scrub on well-drained sites. Flowers visited include white umbellifers; yellow composites, ''Allium ursinum'', ''Caltha'', ''Cornus'', ''Crataegus'', ''Euphorbia'', ''Geranium'', ''Plantago'', ''Ranunculus'', ''Rhamnus catharticus'', ''Rubus'' and ''Sorbus aucuparia''.de Buck, N. (1990) Bloembezoek en bestuivingsecologie van Zweefvliegen (Diptera, Syrphidae) in het bijzonder voor België. ''Doc.Trav.'' IRSNB, no.60, 1-167. The flight period is May to July (April in southern Europe).

References

External links

Biolib
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrysotoxum Cautum Syrphinae Diptera of Europe Insects described in 1776 Taxa named by Moses Harris