An overview of the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia Author Dawah, Hassan A. Author Abdullah, Mohammed A. 0000-0002-3323-3623 mohd_robiya@hotmail.com Author Ahmad, Syed Kamran 0000-0002-6211-2345 entosaif@rediffmail.com Author Al-Dhafer, Hathal 0000-0002-4911-2332 hdhafer@ksu.edu.sa Author Turner, James 0000-0003-2411-7396 urner@museumwales.ac.uk text Zootaxa 2020 2020-09-25 4855 1 1 69 journal article 8491 10.11646/zootaxa.4855.1.1 1ad9a0ab-ccd4-4047-9a29-f2dd287dc3e3 1175-5326 4411181 28A15E99-7A79-40CA-A0C6-1DC501B69E46 Sphaerophoria bengalensis Macquart, 1842 ( Figs 58–59 ) Sphaerophoria bengalensis Macquart, 1842: 104 . Examined specimens. 1♂ , 1♀ , Al-Riyadh , Al-Uyaynah , 45 Km. W. Al-Riyadh , Ashahwan farm, 27.ii.2008 , Ashahrany, alfalfa ( KSMA ) ; 1♂ , Al-Riyadh , Al-Kharj , 80 km . S. Al-Riyadh , 3.iv.1982 , A. Talhouk & S. Tilkian ( KSMA ) ; 1♂ , Al-Riyadh , Al-Wusayl , 45km . N. Al-Riyadh , Al-Mosa farm, 7.xi.2007 , Al-Bahrany ( KSMA ) ; 1♂ , same locality but Ashahwan farm, 27.ii.2008 , S. Ashamrany , Alfalfa ( KSMA ) ; 1♂ , Al-Riyadh , Al-Kharj , 80 km . S. Al-Riyadh , 8.iii.1982 , A. Talhouk & S. Tilkian ( KSMA ) ; 1♂ , 1♀ , Al-Riyadh , Dirab Educational Farm of King Saud University , 31.iii.1987 ( KSMA ) ; 1♂ , same locality but 29.x.1989 ( KSMA ) ; 1♂ , same locality but 25.xi.1989 ( KSMA ) . Distribution. The species was previously recorded from Saudi Arabia by Shalaby (1962) as S. menthastri (L.), while Martin (1972) and Abu-Thuraya (1982) recorded it as S. turkmenica Bańkowska, 1964 . It was described from India (Bengale) and is further recorded from the Palaearctic Region: Afghanistan , Iran , Caucasus (North), China , Korea , and Japan , Turkmenistan ; Oriental Region: India , Nepal , Pakistan , Punjab ( Peck 1988 ; Subhan & Shah 2016 ; Ghorpadé 2009 ; 2014 ; Sengupta et al . 2016 ). In the Arabian Peninsula this species recorded from Oman and UAE ( Smit et al . 2017 ). Remarks. Ghorpadé (2009: 11) reported that the descriptions and figures of S. turkmenica in Bańkowska (1964) and Knutson (1973) are identical to S. bengalensis and it was therefore established as being a junior synonym (see also Smit et al . 2017 ). The adults of S. bengalensis are pollinators while their larvae feed on different species of Aphididae , some Psyllidae and Lepidoptera larvae ( Rojo et al. 2003 ).