aphideater
(Eupeodes subg. Metasyrphus)
Overview • Description • Distribution • Taxonomy
Overview |
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| Metasyrphus is a subgenus of Eupeodes hoverflies known as aphideaters. There are at least 20 species of Metasyrphus worldwide, 20 species in North America north of Mexico, and 5 species in Minnesota. Adults are found in a wide variety of habitats. They feed on flower nectar and pollen. Larvae feed on aphids. Some species prey on aphids on herbaceous plants in the ground layer, some on woody plants in the shrub layer, some on trees in the understory and canopy, and some at two or more layers. | ||||||||
Description |
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Metasyrphus are small, black and yellow, wasp mimics. The thorax is black with no yellow markings. The plate on the underside of the third thoracic segment (metasternum) is hairy. The abdomen is black with yellow separated spots, spots that meet in the middle, or bands on the third and fourth segments. There is a narrow, flattened area on the lateral margins of the abdomen. The male genitalia are small and scarcely visible from above. The wings are densely covered, at least on the lower third, with small, irregularly scattered hairs (microtrichia) and no bare areas near the veins. |
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Distribution |
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Sources Telford, Horace S.. (1939). The syrphidae of Minnesota. University of Minnesota. Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. Skevington, J. H., Locke, M. M., Moran, K., Marshall, S. A., Crins, W. J., Young, A. D. (2019). Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America. United States: Princeton University Press. |
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| 1/17/2021 | ||||
Taxonomy |
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Order |
Diptera (gnats, mosquitoes, true flies) |
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Suborder |
Brachycera (circular-seamed flies, mouches muscoïdes, muscoid flies, short-horned flies) |
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Infraorder |
Muscomorpha |
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| No Rank | Eremoneura |
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| No Rank | Cyclorrhapha |
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| No Rank | Aschiza |
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Superfamily |
Syrphoidea |
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Family |
Syrphidae (hover flies) |
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Subfamily |
Syrphinae |
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Tribe |
Syrphini |
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Genus |
Eupeodes (aphideaters) |
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Subgenus |
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Subordinate Taxa |
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American hover fly (Eupeodes americanus) bare-winged aphideater (Eupeodes perplexus) black-bellied aphideater (Eupeodes confertus) black-tailed aphideater (Eupeodes luniger) Fluke’saphideater (Eupeodes flukei) red-tailed aphideater (Eupeodes montivagus) short-tailed aphideater (Eupeodes pomus) spot-headed aphideater (Eupeodes neoperplexus) variable aphideater (Eupeodes latifasciatus) western aphideater (Eupeodes fumipennis) |
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Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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aphideaters |
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| Alfredo Colon | |||
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| Alfredo Colon 8/20/2019 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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| Alfredo Colon 8/12/2019 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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| Alfredo Colon 8/5/2019 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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Created: 1/17/2021
Last Updated: