The Syrphinae constitute one of the three subfamilies of the fly

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 ...

Syrphidae. Most larvae of this subfamily feed on aphids. It is a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

group with more than 1,600 species.

Gallery

File:Melanostoma sp. (scalare^) Female. - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg, '' Melanostoma'' sp. File:Platycheirus albimanus (male) - Flickr - S. Rae (3).jpg, '' Platycheirus albimanus'' (male) File:Skinny Flower Fly - Flickr - treegrow.jpg, '' Ocyptamus fuscipennis'' File:Sphaerophoria sp. (female) - Spain - Flickr - S. Rae.jpg, '' Sphaerophoria'' sp. (female) File:Syrphus sp. (male) - Flickr - S. Rae.jpg, ''

Syrphus ''Syrphus'' is a genus of hoverflies. It can be distinguished from other genera of the tribe Syrphini because it is the only genus that has long hairs on the upper surface of the lower lobe of the calypter (as well as hairs on the rear margin o ...

'' sp. (male) File:Toxomerus.marginatus02.jpg, ''

Toxomerus marginatus ''Toxomerus marginatus'', also known as the calligrapher fly, is a common species of hoverfly. It is found in many parts of North America. The larvae are predators of thrips, aphids, and small caterpillars. Adults feed on a wide range of fl ...

'' File:Syrphid.maggot3554.5.13.08cw.jpg, Larva of ''

'' sp. feeding on aphids File:Eupeodes americanus.jpg, Puparium of'' Eupeodes americanus

References

Bugguide,net
Subfamily Syrphinae

Encyclopedia of Life
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
The phylogeny and systematics of European predacious Syrphidae (Diptera) based on larval and puparial stages
Annual Review of Entomology
Bionomics and Physiology of Aphidophagous Syrphidae Syrphinae, {{Syrphidae-stub