''Melangyna compositarum'' is a
Holarctic
The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical region ...
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 ...
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 ...
.
DescriptionExternal images
Wing length: .The face is narrower and shinier than in '' Melangyna labiatarum ''. In males, the sides of the face are almost parallel and the eyes are very slightly hairy. The thorax is shinier than in ''M. labiatarum'' male. See references for determination.
The male terminalia are figured by Hippa (1968) ). The larva is undescribed.
Distribution
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 ...
Fennoscandia South to the Pyrenees and northern Spain. Ireland eastwards through North Europe and Central Europe northern Italy and Yugoslavia. Then East into European Russia and Siberia from the Urals to the Pacific coast (Kuril Islands)
Nearctic
The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface.
The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...
Alaska South through the Rocky mountains to New Mexico.
Biology
Habitat: ''Larix'', ''Pinus'' forests.
Arboreal, but descends to visit flowers of white Umbelliferae, ''Galium'', ''Sorbus aucuparia''.
[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 end May to September (July to September at higher altitudes). The larva feeds on
aphids.
References
Diptera of Europe
Taxa named by George Henry Verrall
Syrphinae
Syrphini
Insects described in 1873
{{Syrphidae-stub