Hoverflies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae (maggots) eat a wide range of foods. In some species, the larvae are saprotrophs, eating decaying plant and animal matter in the soil or in ponds and streams. In other species, the larvae are insectivores and prey on aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects.
Mahonia aquifolium, Oregon grape or holly-leaved berberry, is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to western North America. It is an evergreen shrub growing 1 m (3 ft) to 3 m (10 ft) tall by 1.5 m (5 ft) wide, with pinnate leaves consisting of spiny leaflets, and dense clusters of yellow flowers in early spring, followed by dark bluish-black berries.
Mahonia is a genus of approximately 70 species of evergreen shrubs and, rarely, small trees in the family Berberidaceae, native to eastern Asia, the Himalaya, North and Central America. They are closely related to the genus Berberis and botanists disagree on whether to recognize a separate Mahonia. Many botanists prefer to classify Mahonia as a part of Berberis because several species in both genera are able to hybridize, and because there are no consistent morphological differences between the two groups other than the leaf pinnation. However, recent DNA-based phylogenetic studies retain the two separate genera, by clarifying that unifoliolate-leaved Berberis s.s. is derived from within a paraphyletic group of shrubs bearing imparipinnate evergreen leaves, which are then divided into three genera: Mahonia, Alloberberis, and Moranothamnus ; a broadly-circumscribed Berberis would also be monophyletic.
Berberis, commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from 1–5 m (3.3–16.4 ft) tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world. Species diversity is greatest in South America and Asia; Europe, Africa and North America have native species as well. The best-known Berberis species is the European barberry, Berberis vulgaris, which is common in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia, and has been widely introduced in North America. Many of the species have spines on the shoots and all along the margins of the leaves.
Berberis microphylla, common name box-leaved barberry and Magellan barberry, in Spanish calafate and michay and other names, is an evergreen shrub, with simple, shiny box-like leaves. The calafate is native to southern Argentina and Chile and is a symbol of Patagonia.
Mahonia nervosa, commonly known as dwarf Oregon-grape, Cascade barberry, Cascade Oregon-grape, or dull Oregon-grape, is a flowering plant native to the northwest coast of North America from southern British Columbia south to central California, with an isolated population inland in northern Idaho. It is especially common in second growth, Douglas-fir or western redcedar forests, making use of those pools of sunlight that intermittently reach the ground.
Berberis vulgaris, also known as common barberry, European barberry or simply barberry, is a shrub in the genus Berberis. It produces edible but sharply acidic berries, which people in many countries eat as a tart and refreshing fruit.
Berberis thunbergii, the Japanese barberry, Thunberg's barberry, or red barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the barberry family Berberidaceae, native to Japan and eastern Asia, though widely naturalized in China and North America. Growing to 1 m (3.3 ft) tall by 2.5 m (8.2 ft) broad, it is a small deciduous shrub with green leaves turning red in the autumn, brilliant red fruits in autumn and pale yellow flowers in spring. Numerous cultivars are available as ornamental plants suitable for hedging.
The family Oedemeridae is a cosmopolitan group of beetles commonly known as false blister beetles, though some recent authors have coined the name pollen-feeding beetles. There are some 100 genera and 1,500 species in the family, mostly associated with rotting wood as larvae, though adults are quite common on flowers. The family was erected by Pierre André Latreille in 1810.
The blue mud dauber or blue mud wasp is a metallic blue species of mud dauber wasp first described by Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure in 1867. It is not normally aggressive towards humans. It is similar in shape and colour to the steel-blue cricket hunter. Like other types of wasps, males do not have an ovipositor, and therefore cannot sting. It is ranged from northern Mexico to southern Canada, including most of the United States. It has also been introduced to regions including Hawaii, Bermuda and Croatia
Ligdia adustata, the scorched carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae.
Berberis aristata, also known as Indian barberry, "daru haldi" or tree turmeric, is a shrub belonging to the family Berberidaceae and the genus Berberis. The genus comprises approximately 450-500 species of deciduous evergreen shrubs and is found in the temperate and sub-tropical regions of Asia, Europe, and America. B. aristata is native to the Himalayas in India and in Nepal. It is also naturally found in the wet zone of Sri Lanka.
Berberis canadensis, commonly known as the American barberry or Allegheny barberry, is a member of the family Berberidaceae. Berberis canadensis is one of only two simple-leaved or 'true' Berberis indigenous to the United States. The other is B. fendleri of the southwest U.S. The epithet "canadensis" literally means "Canadian" but was often used by 18th-Century botanists to refer to any plants growing in northeastern North America.
Berberis koreana, the Korean barberry, is deciduous shrub that can grow up to 5 feet (1.5 m) in height. The species is endemic to Korea. It is widely planted as an ornamental tree in North America, South America and Europe.
Crocallis tusciaria, the smoky scalloped oak, is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It is found from Morocco through southern Europe and Asia Minor to the Caucasus, northern Iran and Turkmenistan. The eastern range extends to the southern Ural.
Chesias rufata, the broom-tip, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It has a wide range in central and western Europe, including Great Britain and Ireland. It is also found from Morocco to Asia Minor.The species prefers heaths, bushy slopes and rocky valleys which favour its foodplants.It is found up to 1,500m in the Alps.
Berberis moranensis is a shrub in the genus Berberis in the family Berberidaceae. Because of its compound leaves, some botanists place it in the genus Mahonia. It is native to forested regions of the mountains of Mexico from Sinaloa and Guanajuato to Oaxaca. Berberis moranensis has thick waxy leaves, yellow flowers, and purple berries. This species is closely related to Berberis pimanaJ.E. Laferr. & J.S. Marr.
Phtheochroa decipiens is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in Russia, Syria, Central Asia and Iran.
Berberis bealei, also known as leatherleaf mahonia, Beale's barberry, or Oregon grape, is a species of evergreen shrub native to mainland China. The species has been regarded as the same species as Berberis japonica, native to Taiwan, but the two differ consistently in certain floral and leaf characters. Both species are widely cultivated in many countries as ornamentals. Berberis bealei has reportedly escaped cultivation and become established in the wild in scattered places in the south-eastern United States from Arkansas to Florida to Delaware.
Berberis holstii is a spiny evergreen shrub assigned to the barberry family, with simple leaves, hanging panicles with a few yellow flowers and eventually blackish-blue berries. It is one out of only species of Berberis that grow in the wild in Africa, where it can be found at high altitudes in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Malawi. It is also reported from Yemen and Oman. In Malawi it is known as Kayunga, while in Ethiopia it is called Gewo, Yeset af in Amharic, as well as Zinkila, a name also used in the Afar language, and Godxantool in the Somali language.
