''Syritta'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

, family Syrphidae. The genus probably originated in the Afrotropical region. 13 of the 18 recognized species groups are found south of the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. 15 species inhabit the Oriental and Australian-Pacific regions, and only six species are described from the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

region. The two species that occur in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

as far south as Mexico, ''S. flaviventris'' and ''S. pipiens'', were probably introduced by humans. One of the most common species of this genus is ''

Syritta pipiens ''Syritta pipiens'', sometimes called the thick-legged hoverfly, is one of the most common species in the insect family Syrphidae. This fly originates from Europe and is currently distributed across Palearctic, Eurasia and North America. They ar ...

'', a hoverfly from Europe, currently distributed across Eurasia and North America.

Species

References

* Australian/Oceanian Diptera Catalog
Syrphidae
* BugGuide.net
''Syritta pipiens''
* Nearctica.com

{{Authority control Milesiini Hoverfly genera Diptera of Europe Diptera of North America Diptera of Africa Taxa named by Amédée Louis Michel le Peletier Taxa named by Jean Guillaume Audinet-Serville