''Episyrphus'' is a genus of
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 ...
in the subfamily
Syrphinae
The Syrphinae constitute one of the three subfamilies of the fly family Syrphidae. Most larvae of this subfamily feed on aphids. It is a monophyletic group with more than 1,600 species.
Gallery
File:Melanostoma sp. (scalare^) Female. - Flick ...
.
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 predatory, often on
aphid
Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...
s.
Two
subgenera
In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...
are recognized, ''Episyrphus'' and ''Asiobaccha''. Species of the latter are distinguished by a
petiolate abdomen.
It has been claimed that classification within the genus ''Episyrphus'' needs revision, due to the poor clarity of species names and distinguishing characteristics between them.
Characters such as the colors on the abdomen or of the pile on the
frons
Insect morphology is the study and description of the physical form of insects. The terminology used to describe insects is similar to that used for other arthropods due to their shared evolutionary history. Three physical features separate insec ...
and
scutellum, often taken as diagnostic, have been found to depend on temperature in studies on ''E. viridaureus''.
Species
*''
E. arcifer''
(Sack, 1927)
*''
E. balteatus''
(De Geer
The De Geer family (, ; also: De Geer van Jutphaas and De Geer van Oudegein) is a prominent industrial family of Walloon origin that belongs to the Swedish and Dutch nobility.
History
The name derives from the town of Geer near Liège (in pre ...
, 1776)
*''
E. canaqueus''
(Bigot, 1884)
*''
E. circularis''
Hull, 1941
*''
E. contax''
(Curran, 1947)
*''
E. contractus''
(Keiser, 1952)
*''
E. demeijerei''
(Curran, 1947)
*''
E. divertens''
(Walker, 1856)
*''
E. flavibasis''
Keiser, 1971
*''
E. fuscicolor''
(Bigot, 1884)
*''
E. glaber''
(Wright, 2013)
*''
E. insularis''
(Kassebeer, 2000)
*''
E. nigromarginatus''
( Vockeroth, 1973)
*''
E. noumeae''
(Bigot, 1884)
*''
E. obligatus''
(Curran, 1931)
*''
E. oliviae''
(Wright, 2013)
*''
E. perscitus''
(He & Chu, 1992)
*''
E. petilis''
( Vockeroth, 1973)
*''
E. schultzianus''
(Bezzi, 1908)
*''
E. stuckenbergi''
(Doesburg, 1957)
*''
E. trisectus''
( Loew, 1858)
*''
E. viridaureus''
( Wiedemann, 1824)
*''
E. virtuosa''
References
External links
*
Hoverfly genera
Diptera of Africa
Diptera of Europe
Taxa named by Shōnen Matsumura
Syrphini
{{Syrphidae-stub