''Eumerus funeralis'' or lesser bulb fly is a species 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 ...

, from the family Syrphidae, in the order Diptera. ''E. funeralis'' appears in Peck (1988) as a synonym of ''E. strigatus'' (Fallen), but was reinstated as the correct name for ''tuberculatus'' Rondani, sensu auctorum by Speight et al. (1998).

Description

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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: . Stigma are dark brown blackish. Femur 3 has a small ventral process at the base and apical to this projection a bare, shiny area. Female has frons with a large and squarish shiny area occupying its entire width except for the narrow white dust strips against the eye. Tergites are blackish, no red-brown markings. Van Veen, M. (2004) figures the male genitalia. The larva is illustrated by Rotheray (1993)

Distribution

Originated in the Mediterranean basin, but becoming

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

, especially in the

Palaearctic 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 ...

and

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

Biology

The habitat is open ground, dry grassland and clearings in dry woodland. Occurs also in suburban gardens and land used for horticulture. Flowers visited include ''Euphorbia'', ''Fragaria'', ''Leucanthemum'', ''Ranunculus''. The flight period is April to September, with peaks in June and August. The larva is phytophagous, feeding in damaged bulbs. Minor pest of ''Amaryllis'', ''Hyacinthus'' and ''Narcissus''.de Buck, N. (1990). "Bloembezoek en bestuivingsecologie van Zweefvliegen (Diptera, Syrphidae) in het bijzonder voor België". ''Doc.Trav.'' IRSNB, no. 60, pp. 1-167.

References

Diptera of Europe Eristalinae Eumerini Insects described in 1822 {{Syrphidae-stub