''Lejogaster tarsata'' 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 ...

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 ...

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) ...

The thorax and abdomen are lustrous metallic green to golden, frequently with reddish reflections. The tergite at the tip of the abdomen is yellowish-green with blue and purple reflections except around the margin. In the male the face lacks a median tubercle. The third segment of antennae below for greater or lesser part narrow and part yellow towards the tip. Middle segment of tarsi yellow. Body length 5.0 to 7.0 mm. The larva is described and figured by Rotheray (1994).

Distribution

Scandinavia south to the

Mediterranean basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...

. From Ireland 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

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern regions of Europe, region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countrie ...

into European Russia, Iran and Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kirghizia, Turkmenia and Kazakhstan to Mongolia, Siberia and the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

.Peck, L.V. (1988) Syrphidae. In: Soos, A. & Papp, L. (eds.) ''Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera'', 8: 11-230. Akad.Kiado, Budapest.

Habitat

Wetland, margins of streams and pools, springs and spring-fed ponds.

Biology

Flies in a zigzag, darting fashion from May to August. Flowers visited are white umbellifers ''

Matricaria ''Matricaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the chamomile tribe within the sunflower family. Some of the species have the common name of "mayweed," but this name also refers to plants not in this genus. Most are very common in the temp ...

'', ''

Ranunculus ''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed in Europe ...

''.

References

Diptera of Europe Eristalinae Insects described in 1822 category:Taxa named by Johann Wilhelm Meigen {{Syrphidae-stub