''Eupeodes corollae'' is a very common European 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, whil ...

. Adults are in body length. Males and females have different marking on the

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 to ...

; males have square commas on

tergite A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'mar ...

s 3 and 4, whereas females have narrow commas.

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. ...

e feed on

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

s. This species has been used experimentally in glasshouses as a method of aphid control, and to control scale insects and aphids in fruit plantations. They were found to be partial to the fruit, eating more fruit than aphids. ''E. corollae'' is found across Europe, North Africa and Asia. Adults are often migratory.

Technical description

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For terms see

Morphology of Diptera Dipteran morphology differs in some significant ways from the broader morphology of insects. The Diptera is a very large and diverse order of mostly small to medium-sized insects. They have prominent compound eyes on a mobile head, and (at most) ...

Wing length 5-8·25 mm. Male abdomen with pre-genital segment very large and conspicuous. Genitalia large. Yellow spots reach the side margin of tergites 3 and 4.Scutellum mainly yellow-haired. Female frons with white dust spots and junction between black ground colour and yellow spots straight.

Distribution

Palaearctic 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 ...

Range: from Fennoscandia South to Iberia, to the Mediterranean basin. Coastal States of Africa down to South Africa. Ireland East into European Russia, Russian Far East, Siberia, to the Pacific coast and Japan. China, Formosa. The male genitalia and the larva are figured described by Dusek & Laska (1961)

Biology

Habitat: grassland, dune systems, dry river beds, garrigue, most sorts of farmland (including arable crops), suburban gardens, orchards, alpine grassland in the Alps. Hedgerows, grassy clearings in woodland, crops, gardens, tracksides, and road verges. Flowers visited include umbellifers, ''Achillea millefolium'', ''Campanula rapunculoides'', ''Chrysanthemum'', ''Cirsium'', ''Eschscholzia californica'', ''Galeopsis'', ''Hypericum'', ''Leontodon'', ''Origanum vulgare'', ''Potentilla erecta'', ''Ranunculus'', ''Rubus fruticosus'', ''Salix'', ''Senecio'', ''Tripleurospermum inodoratum'', ''Tussilago''. The flight period is May to September (all the year in southern Europe). Information on the biology of ''Eupeodes corollae'' is provided by Marcos-Garcia (1981) and Barkemeyer (1994).Barkemeyer, W. (1994) Untersuchung zum Vorkommen der Schwebfliegen in Niedersachsen und Bremen (Diptera: Syrphidae). ''Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege in Niedersachsen'', 31: 1-514.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1758301 Syrphini Diptera of Africa Diptera of Asia Diptera of Europe Insects described in 1794 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius