Microdon mutabilis

Microdon mutabilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Syrphidae
Genus:	Microdon
Species:	M. mutabilis
Binomial name
Microdon mutabilis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Microdon apiformis(De Geer, 1776) Musca apiformisDe Geer, 1776 Musca mutabilisLinnaeus, 1758

Microdon mutabilis, is a species of hoverfly. It is found in many parts of Britain and Europe. The distinctive almost slug-like larvae live in ants' nests. ^[1] They are hemispherical in shape, heavily armoured and believed to prey on the eggs and larvae of a number of ant species, including Formica lemani , Formica fusca , Lasius niger and Myrmica ruginodis . ^[2] It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. ^[3]

Description

For terms see Morphology of Diptera

Wing length 6–9 mm. Pterostigma 2-2.5 times as long as the length of the wing margin between ends of wing veins R1 and R2+3. Scutellum red or dark red. The male genitalia are figured by Doczkal and Schmid (1999). ^[4] Note M. mutabilis is only reliably distinguished from M. myrmicae by features of the puparium. See references for determination. ^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

References

1. Donisthorpe, H. St. J. (1927). The guests of British ants : their habits and life-histories. London: Routledge. p. 244.
2. Stubbs, Alan E. & Falk, Steven J. (1983). British Hoverflies: An Illustrated Identification Guide. British Entomological & Natural History Society. pp. 253, xvpp.
3. "Microdon mutabilis (Linnaeus, 1758)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
4. Doczkal, D. & Schmid, U. (1999). "Revision der mitteleuropäischen Arten der Gattung Microdon Meigen (Diptera, Syrphidae)". Volucella. 4: 45-68.
5. Van Veen, M. (2004) Hoverflies of Northwest Europe: Identification Keys to the Syrphidae. 256pp. KNNV Publishing, Utrecht.addendum
6. Van der Goot, V. S. (1981). De zweefvliegen van Noordwest - Europa en Europees Rusland, in het bijzonder van de Benelux. KNNV, Uitgave no.32: 275pp. Amsterdam.
7. Bei-Bienko, G. Y. & Steyskal, G. C. (1988). Keys to the Insects of the European Part of the USSR, Volume V: Diptera and Siphonaptera, Part I. Amerind Publishing Co., New Delhi. ISBN   81-205-0080-6
8. Coe, R. L. (1953). "Diptera: Syrphidae". Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. 10 (1): 1-98. Royal Entomological Society.
9. Speight, M. C. D. (2011). "Species accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera)" (PDF). Syrph the Net, the Database of European Syrphidae. 65: 285pp.

External links

• "Taxonomy Browser: Microdon mutabilis". Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD). Retrieved July 12, 2020. With images.