| Mallota cimbiciformis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mallota cf.cimbiciformis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Syrphidae |
| Genus: | Mallota |
| Species: | M. cimbiciformis |
| Binomial name | |
| Mallota cimbiciformis (Fallen, 1817) | |
Mallota cimbiciformis is a Palearctic hoverfly.
For terms see Morphology of Diptera
A large (wing length 11·25-12·5 mm.) greenish-yellow and black fly which is a bumblebee mimic. The face is strongly dusted grey or grey-white, with a shining black median stripe, The antennae are red-brown with segments 1 and 2 sometimes black. The thorax is dull greenish-yellow, with long dense yellow hairs and a clear yellow scutellum. The tergites are black, with grey or mixed grey and black hairs 2, and occasionally 3 and 4, with a more or less obvious pair of reddish side-markings. The wings have a brown anterior cloud across the middle. The legs which have very large curved hind femora are partly black with at least the tibiae and tarsi partly or extensively reddish. Mallota differ from the similar Merodon by the angle of intersection of wing veins M1 and R4+5, acute and close to the wing edge in Mallota a right angle in Merodon The larva is of the rat-tailed type, that is with a tube-like breathing siphon at the rear end. The larva is described and figured by Rotheray (1994). [1] External images [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Fennoscandia south to the Pyrenees and central Spain and North Africa. Britain east through most of Europe to central Siberia; northern Iran [7] [8]
The habitat is Fagus sylvatica and Quercus robur forest with mature and senescent trees, and evergreen oak forest of Quercus suber and Quercus ilex .
Adults are arboreal, but descends to feed in glades and open areas. They have a rapid zigzag flight. Flowers visited include Cistus , Cornus sanguinea , Rosa canina , Rubus , Sambucus ebulus and Sarothamnus scoparius . Both sexes are found near rotholes. The flight period is June to August. The rat-tailed larvae are saprophagous. [9] Maibach & Goeldlin give an account of larval biology [10]
Xylota segnis, The Brown-toed Forest Fly, is a common species of hoverfly.
Merodon equestris is a Holarctic species of hoverfly. Like many other hoverflies it displays a colouration pattern similar to a stinging insect as an evolutionary defense mechanism. Other syrphid bee mimics are Mallota, Arctophila, Criorhina, Pocota and Brachypalpus. Merodon species are distinguished from these by the very strong hind femora, which bear a large triangular projection on the underside near the tip. It flies in low vegetation while the other bumblebee mimics prefer higher vegetation layers.
Meliscaeva auricollis is a West Palearctic species of hoverfly.
Criorhina berberina is a species of hoverfly. It is found in the Palaearctic from Fennoscandia South to Iberia and Italy. Ireland eastwards through Europe into Turkey and European Russia . C. berberina is a bumblebee mimic. The body has uniformly long dense pubescence, obscuring the ground-colour. There are two forms one with the pubescence more or less extensively blackish, one in which it is entirely yellow or tawny. Criorhina differ from other bumblebee mimics - Mallota, Arctophila, Pocota and Brachypalpus by the form of their antennae: the first segments are thin and form a stalk, the third segment is shorter than it is wide. In Criorhina, the face projects downwards, in contrast to Pocota and Brachypalpus.
Chrysogaster solstitialis is a European species of hoverfly.
Orthonevra nobilis is a species of hoverfly.
Melangyna lasiophthalma is a Holarctic species of hoverfly.
Fagisyrphus cinctus is a European species of hoverfly. This species has a muddled taxonomic history. Older authors treated it as a member of the genus Melangyna, and later sources in Meligramma, but the most recent sources recognize it as the sole species in its own monotypic genus, Fagisyrphus.
Ferdinandea cuprea is a European species of hoverfly notable for its brassy abdomen. The larvae have been found in sap from trunk damage on oak and ash.
Melanogaster hirtella is a European species of hoverfly.
Lejogaster metallina is a Palearctic species of hoverfly.
Parasyrphus vittiger is a species of hoverfly, from the family Syrphidae, in the order Diptera.
Criorhina floccosa, is a species of hoverfly. It is found in many parts of the Palearctic including Europe.
Criorhina ranunculi, is a species of hoverfly found in the spring in many parts of Britain and Europe.
Platycheirus angustatus is a species of hoverfly. It is found in many parts of the Palearctic, and in the Nearctic.
Melangyna quadrimaculata is a European species of hoverfly.
Orthonevra geniculata is a species of hoverfly found in the Palearctic.
Brachypalpoides lentus is a European species of hoverflies.
Neoascia tenur is a Palearctic species of hoverfly.
Lejogaster tarsata is a Palearctic hoverfly