''Brachypalpus valgus'' is a species of

hoverfly Hover flies, 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 ...

found in Europe.

Description

External images
''Brachypalpus'' are medium-sized (wing length 8.5-10.75 mm.) blackish flies with clouded wings. In ''Brachypalpus valgus'' the

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

and scutellum are unstriped and aeneous black. The abdominal tergites are shining black with red lateral colour at base of

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

. Hairs on the body surface are sand brown. Hind trochanters with a posterior process. Hind tibiae slightly curved. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

is illustrated by Rotheray (1993).

Mimicry

Superficially resembles a honey bee.

Distribution

''Brachypalpus valgus'' is a

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

species with a limited distribution in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

South Fennoscandia to the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

then

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

east through

central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

and

northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and European parts of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Biology

Occurs in wooded areas (over-mature ''Fagus'' and ''Quercus'' forest with senile trees and fallen, rotting timber) where it is a bioindicator. The "short-tailed" larvae have been found in the rotten wood of trees, and under the bark. Males have a rapid, zigzag flight over the trunks of fallen tree. They fly with a high-pitched buzz. The female can be found investigating fallen trees. Both sexes visit the flowers of umbellifers, ''Berberis'', ''Crataegus'', ''Photinia'', ''Prunus'' and ''Sorbus''.de Buck, N. (1990) Bloembezoek en bestuivingsecologie van Zweefvliegen (Diptera, Syrphidae) in het bijzonder voor België. ''Doc. Trav.'' IRSNB, no. 60, pp. 1-167. The flight period is from the end May to the end of June.

References

External links

Biolib
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brachypalpus valgus Muscomorph flies of Europe Eristalinae Insects described in 1798 Taxa named by Georg Wolfgang Franz Panzer