''Surimyia'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
hoverflies
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, whi ...
, with three known species.
They are small (4– to 5-mm)
microdontine flies.
''Surimyia'' is the only hoverfly genus with the
katatergum lacking
microtrichia
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 ...
. In the subfamily
Microdontinae
The subfamily Microdontinae contains slightly more than 400 species of hoverflies (family Syrphidae) and, while diverse, these species share several characteristics by which they differ from other syrphids. The Microdontinae are myrmecophiles, me ...
, they are distinctive in the absence of pilosity on the
postpronotum.
Biology
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 presumably found in
ant
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,0 ...
nests.
Distribution
They are only known from
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
.
Species
*''
S. minutula''
(van Doesburg, 1966)
*''
S. reemeri''
Carvalho-Filho, 2014[
*'' S. rolanderi'' Reemer, 2008]
References
{{taxonbar, from1=Q2744576
Hoverfly genera
Microdontinae
Diptera of South America