Eristalinus megacephalus

Eristalinus megacephalus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Syrphidae
Genus: Eristalinus
Subgenus: Eristalodes
Species: E. megacephalus[1]
Binomial name
Eristalinus megacephalus
Rossi, 1794[2]
Synonyms
  • Eristalis fasciatus
    Germar, 1844
  • Eristalis laetus
    Wiedemann, 1830
  • Eristalis obscuritarsis
    Meijere, 1908
  • Eristalis pallinevris
    Macquart, 1842
  • Eristalis quinquefasciatus
    Schiner, 1849
  • Eristalis quinquevittatus
    Macquart, 1849
  • Eristalis ridens
    Walker, 1849
  • Lathyrophthalmus ishigakiensis
    Shiraki, 1968

Eristalinus megacephalus is a species of hoverfly.

Description

Eristalinus megacephalus has a black abdomen and golden horizonal stripes larger in males. It has a black thorax,[3] legs with black tips, transparent, flexible wings, a large head and golden compound eyes with pale purple spots.[4] Being about 8–11 mm long,[5] it is a good pollinator, and uses Batesian mimicry to look like hymenopteran bees and scare away predators.[6] Its appearance is also similar to bee flies (family Bombyliidae).[7] The species is listed in 2: 63 of Rossi's publication Mantissa insectorum.[8] There are no subspecies. It is the rarest species of the genus Eristalinus, and is common but not abundant.

The species's flight period is from May to October, and is most plentiful from June to July.[9]

Distribution

E. megacephalus can be found in most countries, including South Africa, Egypt, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, India, Java, Guam, Southern Spain, Turkey, North Africa, Iran, and coastal parts of Italy.[10]

Etymology

The word megacephalus consists of the prefix mega- and the suffix -cephalus. -Cephalus, derived from New Latin,[11] means an unusual condition of the head.[12] Mega- , a metric system prefix describing one million (1,000,000) of the base word, is used to emphasize the largeness or greatness of an object.[13] The prefix is derived from Greek megas, which means huge and powerful.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Animal Diversity Web: Eristalinus megacephalus". 2014 Regents of the University of Michigan. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "The World of Syrphidae: Eristalinus megacephalus Rossi, 1994". Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "African Wild Insect Book Flies Photos & Descriptions" (PDF). phpBB Group. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Biodiversidad Costa Granadina: Eristalinus megacephalus (Spanish)". Biodiversidad Costa Granadina. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Biosystematic Studies of Ceylonese Wasps, XVII" (PDF). The Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Animalandia: Eristalinus megacephalus, Rossi, 1794 (Spanish)". Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "blipfoto: Eristalinus megacephalus". Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Introduction to Hover Flies" (PDF). Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "A survey of the hoverflies of northeastern Algeria" (PDF). Egyptian British Biological Society. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  10. ↑ "Global Species: Eristalinus megacephalus". Myers Enterprises II 2009-2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "Dictionary.com: -cephalus". 2014 Dictionary.com, LLC. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "The Free Dictionary: -cephalus". 2014 Farlex, Inc. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  13. ↑ "Mega - Definition and More from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary". 2014 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "Dictionary.com: Mega-". 2014 Dictionary.com, LLC. Retrieved 27 November 2014.

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