''Ferdinandea cuprea'' is a

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 ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

notable for its brassy abdomen. The larvae have been found in sap from trunk damage on

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

Description

Wing length 7·25-11·25 mm. Thorax dorsum black with grey dust, with longitudinal black stripes strong black. Abdomen greenish with dull bands connecting to hind margin. Dark marks on the wings. Arista black. Male genitalia figured by Coe (1953).Larva illustrated by Hartley (1961) and Rotheray (1993) and in colour by Rotheray (1993) See references

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 ...

Fennoscandia South to southern Spain and the Mediterranean basin to Turkey. Ireland East through Central Europe and North Europe to the Pacific coast of Siberia and Japan.

Biology

Habitat:''Populus''-''Salix'', ''Carpinus''-''Quercus'' woodlands, ''Quercus pubescens'' and ''Quercus pyrenaica'' forest and ''Betula'' forest. Usually on the trunks of standing, live trees, or on the cut ends of stacked logs, in glades, or at the edge of clearings and along tracks or at sap runs. Flowers visited include ''Convolvulus'', ''Crataegus'', ''Hieracium'', ''Leontodon'', ''Lonicera'', ''Mentha'', ''Oenothera'', ''Prunus cerasus'', ''Ranunculus'', ''Rosa'', ''Rubus fruticosus'', ''Sonchus'', ''Taraxacum'', ''Ulmus''.de Buck, N. (1990) Bloembezoek en bestuivingsecologie van Zweefvliegen (Diptera, Syrphidae) in het bijzonder voor België. ''Doc.Trav.'' IRSNB, no.60, 1-167. The flight period is April to September (North Europe). The larvae have been found in wet, decomposing tree roots of ''Quercus'' and in the tree humus trunk cavities of ''Quercus'' as well as at sap runs. They may be both saprophages and

detritivore Detritivores (also known as detrivores, detritophages, detritus feeders, or detritus eaters) are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces). There are many kinds of invertebrates, ...

References

External links

Images
Rhingiini Diptera of Europe Insects described in 1763 Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli {{Eristalinae-stub