Catalogue of the Syrphidae of Egypt (Diptera)
Author
El-Hawagry, Magdi S.
Author
Gilbert, Francis
text
Zootaxa
2019
2019-04-05
4577
2
201
248
journal article
27386
10.11646/zootaxa.4577.2.1
edfb4093-4bf9-40ed-9fb4-bf492ccad12e
1175-5326
2629643
959CC8F8-E214-4A56-9343-CBCC2CBD43DD
Scaeva
(
Scaeva
)
pyrastri
(
Linnaeus, 1758
)
Musca
pyrastri
Linnaeus, 1758
: 594
.
Type
locality:
Sweden
(Svecia).
Musca
rosae
De Geer, 1776
: 108. Unjustified new name for
Musca
pyrastri
Linnaeus.
Musca mellina
Harris, 1780: 30.
Type
locality:
England
.
Scaeva corrusca
Gravenhorst, 1807
: 375
.
Type
locality:
Germany
(not given).
Scaeva affinis
Say, 1823
: 93
.
Type
locality:
USA
(
Arkansas
).
Scaeva unicolor
Curtis, 1834
: 509
.
Type
locality:
Great Britain
(
England
: the neighborhood of London).
Syrphus pyrastri
var.
flavoscutellatus
Girschner, 1884
: 197
.
Type
locality:
Germany
(
Thüringen
).
World distribution
: NE:
Canada
,
USA
. OR:
India
,
Pakistan
. PA:
Afghanistan
,
Algeria
, Canary Is.,
China
,
Egypt
, Europe (widespread), Madeira,
Mongolia
.
Egyptian localities
: Eastern Desert: Wadi Rishrash [
Shaumar & Kamal (1978)
].
Activity period in
Egypt
: March.
Remarks
: This is a highly mobile species, usually exploiting concentrations of aphids wherever it finds them. Adults are fast fliers, usually within
3m
of the ground; they are frequently encountered flying around bushes and shrubs in a slow and purposeful manner, only to speed away after 30 seconds or so. It is to a significant extent anthropophilic, occurring in arable crops, hedgerows, orchards, gardens and conifer plantations. In Europe, it has been recorded visiting an extensive list of flowers, especially the
Umbelliferae
(
De Buck 1990
;
Speight 2017
). In
Egypt
the larvae were seen feeding ravenously on aphids (
Efflatoun 1922
).