Merodon
Encyclopedia
Merodon is a large genus of bee
–like hoverflies
. The majority of the species are centered around the Mediterranean and it is the second largest hoverfly genus in Europe
with more than 50 European species. It is distributed over the Palaearctic and Afrotropic ecozones, with most European species occurring in Eastern Europe
. The centre of distribution of this genus appears to be Turkey, where about 65 species have been recorded. Some species occur in Africa (Morocco through East Africa and Ghana to South Africa) and the middle East, as far as Pakistan. The larva
e feed on the bulbs or rhizome
s of monocotyledon
s.
One of the more common species in the genus, Merodon equestris
is known as the Narcissus bulb fly, greater bulb-fly, large bulb fly or large Narcissus fly.
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
–like hoverflies
Hoverfly
Hoverflies, sometimes 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 the larvae eat a wide range of foods...
. The majority of the species are centered around the Mediterranean and it is the second largest hoverfly genus in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with more than 50 European species. It is distributed over the Palaearctic and Afrotropic ecozones, with most European species occurring in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. The centre of distribution of this genus appears to be Turkey, where about 65 species have been recorded. Some species occur in Africa (Morocco through East Africa and Ghana to South Africa) and the middle East, as far as Pakistan. The larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e feed on the bulbs or rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s of monocotyledon
Monocotyledon
Monocotyledons, also known as monocots, are one of two major groups of flowering plants that are traditionally recognized, the other being dicotyledons, or dicots. Monocot seedlings typically have one cotyledon , in contrast to the two cotyledons typical of dicots...
s.
One of the more common species in the genus, Merodon equestris
Merodon equestris
Merodon equestris is a European species of hoverfly . Like other hoverflies it displays a coloration pattern similar to a stinging insect as an evolutionary defense mechanism.-Distribution:M...
is known as the Narcissus bulb fly, greater bulb-fly, large bulb fly or large Narcissus fly.
Systematics
Species include:- M. aberrans Egger, 1860
- M. abruzzensis van der Goot, 1969
- M. aeneus MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1822 - M. affinis Gil Collado, 1930
- M. alagoezicus Paramonov, 1925
- M. albifrons MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1822 - M. albonigrum Vujic, Radenkovic & Simic, 1996
- M. alexeji Paramonov, 1925
- M. ambiguus Bradescu, 1986
- M. andalusiacus Paramonov, 1929
- M. annulatus (FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1794) - M. antonioi Marcos-García, Vujic & Mengual, 2007
- M. armipes RóndaniCamillo RóndaniCamillo Róndani was an Italian entomologist noted for his studies of Diptera.-Early years:When Camillo Róndani was born in Parma the city was part of the French Empire Napoleon having crowned himself King of Italy...
, 1843 - M. arundanus Marcos-García, Vujic & Mengual, 2007
- M. aureus FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1805 - M. auripes Sack, 1913
- M. auripilus MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1830 - M. avidus (Rossi, 1790)
- M. bessarabicus Paramonov, 1924
- M. biarcuatus Curran, 1939
- M. bolivari Gil Collado, 1930
- M. cabanerensis Marcos-García, Vujic & Mengual, 2007
- M. caerulescens LoewHermann LoewFriedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
, 1869 - M. caucasicus Portschinsky, 1877
- M. chalybeatus Sack, 1913
- M. chalybeus Wiedemann in Meigen, 1822
- M. cinereus (FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1794) - M. clavipes (FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1781) - M. clunipes Sack, 1913
- M. constans (Rossi, 1794)
- M. crassifemoris Paramonov, 1925
- M. crymensis Paramonov, 1925
- M. crypticus Marcos-García, Vujic & Mengual, 2007
- M. desuturinus Vujic, Simic & Radenkovic, 1995
- M. distinctus Palma, 1863
- M. dobrogensis Bradescu, 1982
- M. dzhalitae Paramonov, 1926
- M. elegans Hurkmans, 1993
- M. equestrisMerodon equestrisMerodon equestris is a European species of hoverfly . Like other hoverflies it displays a coloration pattern similar to a stinging insect as an evolutionary defense mechanism.-Distribution:M...
(FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1794) - M. eques (FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1805) - M. erivanicus Paramonov, 1925
- M. escalerai Gil Collado, 1929
- M. escorialensis Strobl, 1909
- M. femoratoides Paramonov, 1925
- M. femoratus Sack, 1913
- M. flavus Sack, 1913
- M. fractipes Paramonov, 1936
- M. funestus (FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1794) - M. geniculatus Strobl, 1909
- M. haemorrhoidalis Sack, 1913
- M. hamifer Sack, 1913
- M. hispanicus Sack, 1931
- M. hurkmansi Marcos-García, Vujic & Mengual, 2007
- M. kaloceros Hurkmans, 1993
- M. karadaghensis Zimina, 1989
- M. kiritschenkoi (Stackelberg, 1960)
- M. legionensis Marcos-García, Vujic & Mengual, 2007
- M. loewi van der Goot, 1964
- M. longicornis Sack, 1913
- M. longispinus Marcos-García, Vujic & Mengual, 2007
- M. lusitanicus Hurkmans, 1993
- M. luteihumerus Marcos-García, Vujic & Mengual, 2007
- M. manicatus Sack, 1938
- M. mariae Hurkmans, 1993
- M. minutus Strobl, 1893
- M. nanus Sack, 1931
- M. natans (FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1794) - M. nigritarsis RóndaniCamillo RóndaniCamillo Róndani was an Italian entomologist noted for his studies of Diptera.-Early years:When Camillo Róndani was born in Parma the city was part of the French Empire Napoleon having crowned himself King of Italy...
, 1845 - M. parietum Wiedemann in Meigen, 1822
- M. planiceps LoewHermann LoewFriedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
, 1862 - M. pruni (Rossi, 1790)
- M. quercetorum Marcos-García, Vujic & Mengual, 2007
- M. rubidiventris Costa, 1884
- M. ruficornis MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1822 - M. rufipes Sack, 1913
- M. rufus MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1838 - M. segetum (FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1794) - M. spicatus BeckerTheodor BeckerTheodor Becker was a German civil engineer and entomologist primarily known for his work with flies....
, 1907 - M. spinitarsis Paramonov, 1929
- M. splendens Hurkmans, 1993
- M. strobli Bradescu, 1986
- M. stukei Hauser & Hurkmans, 1997
- M. tener Sack, 1913
- M. teruelensis van der Goot, 1966
- M. testaceoides Hurkmans, 1993
- M. toscanus Hurkmans, 1993
- M. tricinctus Sack, 1913
- M. trochantericus Costa, 1884
- M. unguicornis Strobl, 1909
- M. velox LoewHermann LoewFriedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
, 1869