''Exhyalanthrax afer'' is a member of the

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Bombyliidae The Bombyliidae are a family of flies, commonly known as bee flies. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen, some being important pollinators. Larvae are mostly parasitoids of other insects. Overview The Bombyliidae are a large family of fl ...

first described by

Johan Christian Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is cons ...

in 1794.

Biology

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 ...

e feed on

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

e of

tachinid The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this family ...

and

ichneumonid The Ichneumonidae, also known as the ichneumon wasps, Darwin wasps, or ichneumonids, are a family (biology), family of parasitoid wasps of the insect order Hymenoptera. They are one of the most diverse groups within the Hymenoptera with roughly 2 ...

parasitoids In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionary strategies within parasi ...

of the pine processionary caterpillar, ''

Thaumetopoea pityocampa The pine processionary (''Thaumetopoea pityocampa'') is a moth of the subfamily Thaumetopoeinae in the family Notodontidae, known for the irritating hairs of its caterpillars, their processions, and the economic damage they cause in coniferous ...

''. The pupae of other

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

and from cocoons of the pine sawfly, ''

Neodiprion sertifer ''Neodiprion sertifer'', the European pine sawfly or red pine sawfly, is a sawfly species in the genus ''Neodiprion''. Although native to Europe, it was accidentally introduced to North America in 1925. The larvae of '' Exhyalanthrax afer'' fe ...

''. Adults are most often seen visiting flowers to feed on nectar.

Distribution

Afrotropical: Chad, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Yemen. Oriental: Pakistan. Palaearctic: Afghanistan, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, China (Beijing, Nei Monggol, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France (incl. Corsica), Germany, Gibraltar, Greece (incl. Lesbos), Gruzia, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Libya, Macedonia, Malta, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia (WS), Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (incl. Ibiza, Mallorca), Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yugoslavia,

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5420248 Bombyliidae Diptera of Europe Diptera of Africa Diptera of Asia Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius Insects described in 1794