''Melanogaster aerosa'' 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 ...

Taxonomy

This species appears in recent literature as well as older literature under the name ''Chrysogaster macquarti''.

Description

External images
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) ...

Males: The margin of mouth and apex of the median tubercle of face almost in the same vertical plane. Females: mesonotum with short but dense hairs; abdomen on upper side in middle part matt black. Body length 6.0 to 7.0.mm. Coe, R.L. (1953) Diptera: Syrphidae. ''Handbks.ident.Br.insects,'' 10(1): 1-98. R.ent.Soc.London
pdf
/ref>

Habitat

Wetlands including flushes, pools and small streams in moorland.

Biology

Flies among waterside vegetation from May to September,. Flowers visited include ''

Cirsium ''Cirsium'' is a genus of perennial and biennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known commonly as thistles. They are more precisely known as plume thistles. These differ from other thistle genera ('' Carduus'', ''Silyb ...

'', ''

Hieracium ''Hieracium'' (), known by the common name hawkweed and classically as (from ancient Greek ιεράξ, 'hawk'), is a genus of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and closely related to dandelion (''Taraxacum''), chicory ('' Cichorium'') ...

'', ''

Leontodon ''Leontodon'' is a genus of plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae, commonly known as hawkbits. Their English name derives from the mediaeval belief that hawks ate the plant to improve their eyesight. Although originally on ...

''.

References

Diptera of Europe Brachyopini Insects described in 1843 Taxa named by Hermann Loew {{Brachyopini-stub