Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) ➔ Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods) ➔ Class Insecta (Insects) ➔ Order Diptera (True flies) ➔ Family Syrphidae (Hoverflies)
Sphaerophoria scripta (Linnaeus, 1758)
Gemeine Langbauchschwebfliege Long Hoverfly
Synonyms and other combinations:
Musca invisito Harris, 1780 | Musca libatrix Scopoli, 1763 | Sphaerophoria brunettii Joseph, 1967 | Sphaerophoria scutellata Portevin, 1909 | Sphaerophoria strigata Staeger, 1845 | Sphaerophoria violacea Abreu, 1924 |
Classification:
Sphaerophoria scripta belongs to the subfamily Syrphinae, tribe Syrphini.Distribution:
Southwest Greenland, Iceland and Fennoscandia south to the Mediterranean, the Canary Isles and North Africa; from Ireland eastwards through much of the Palaearctic to the Pacific coast of Asia; Kashmir and Nepal.Habitat:
Open ground: grassland up to and including the alpine grassland zone, heath, gardens, etc..Description:
Body length 7 - 12 mm; abdomen elongated, narrow, with black and yellow markings; thorax dull or moderately shiny, with yellow side stripes, narrowing towards the back, over the entire length of the thorax; scutellum yellow, yellow haired, legs yellow.Male: abdomen much longer than the wings.
Biology:
Sphaerophoria scripta flies in several generations from April to October (probably throughout the year in southern Europe). This species is highly migratory. During the summer, a large number of individuals may travel north.The imagines feed on pollen and nectar and visit the flowers of low growing plants. After mating, the females lay their eggs on plants infested by aphids. The larvae of Sphaerophoria scripta feed on various species of aphids that live on low herbs and grasses. The fully grown larvae pupate on a plant. Under favorable temperature conditions, the development from egg to adult fly takes only 20 days.
Sphaerophoria scripta undergoes an optional diapause at the end of the last larval stage and overwinters in colder regions as a larva.
References, further reading, links:
- Pape T. & Thompson F.C. (eds) (2017). Systema Dipterorum (version 2.0, Jan 2011). In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2017 Annual Checklist (Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds.). Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2017. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-884X.
- Gerald Bothe: Bestimmungsschlüssel für die Schwebfliegen (Diptera, Syrphidae) Deutschlands und der Niederlande, DJN, 1984, ISBN 3-923376-07-3
- M.C.D.Speight: Species Accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera), Glasgow 2011, Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae, vol. 65, 285 pp., Syrph the Net publications, Dublin.
- Menno Reemer, Willem Renema, Wouter van Steenis, Theo Zeegers, Aat Barendregt, John T. Smit, Mark P. van Veen, Jeroen van Steenis, Laurens van der Leij: De Nederlandse Zweefvliegen (Diptera: Syrphidae), Nederlandse Fauna 8, 2009.
- Anasimyia interpuncta
- Anasimyia transfuga
- Baccha elongata
- Blera fallax
- Brachyopa sp.
- Brachypalpoides lentus
- Brachypalpus laphriformis
- Brachypalpus sp.
- Brachypalpus valgus
- Ceriana conopsoides
- Ceriana vespiformis
- Chalcosyrphus femoratus
- Chalcosyrphus nemorum
- Chalcosyrphus valgus
- Cheilosia albipila
- Cheilosia albitarsis
- Cheilosia chrysocoma
- Cheilosia illustrata
- Cheilosia pagana
- Cheilosia scutellata
- Cheilosia sp.
- Cheilosia variabilis
- Chrysogaster sp.
- Chrysotoxum bicinctum
- Chrysotoxum fasciatum
- Chrysotoxum festivum
- Chrysotoxum verralli
- Criorhina berberina
- Dasysyrphus albostriatus
- Dasysyrphus sp.
- Dasysyrphus tricinctus
- Didea fasciata
- Didea intermedia
- Didea sp.
- Epistrophe diaphana
- Epistrophe eligans
- Epistrophe flava
- Epistrophe grossulariae
- Epistrophe melanostoma
- Epistrophe melanostoma/nitidicollis
- Epistrophella euchroma
- Episyrphus balteatus
- Eristalinus aeneus
- Eristalinus megacephalus
- Eristalinus taeniops
- Eristalis arbustorum
- Eristalis interrupta
- Eristalis intricaria
- Eristalis lineata
- Eristalis pertinax
- Eristalis rupium
- Eristalis similis
- Eristalis sp.
- Eristalis tenax
- Eumerus purpurariae
- Eumerus sp.
- Eupeodes corollae
- Eupeodes luniger
- Eupeodes sp.
- Eurimyia lineata
- Ferdinandea cuprea
- Hammerschmidtia ferruginea
- Helophilus hybridus
- Helophilus pendulus
- Helophilus sp.
- Helophilus trivittatus
- Ischiodon aegyptius
- Leucozona glaucia
- Leucozona laternaria
- Leucozona lucorum
- Melangyna lasiophthalma
- Melangyna quadrimaculata
- Melangyna umbellatarum
- Melanogaster sp.
- Melanostoma scalare
- Meligramma triangulifera
- Meliscaeva cinctella
- Merodon ambiguus
- Merodon avidus
- Merodon equestris
- Merodon moenium
- Merodon obscuritarsis
- Merodon sp.
- Microdon analis/major
- Microdon mutabilis/myrmicae
- Myathropa florea
- Myolepta dubia
- Orthonevra sp.
- Paragus sp.
- Parasyrphus lineolus
- Parhelophilus sp.
- Pipiza austriaca
- Pipiza bimaculata
- Pipiza fenestrata
- Pipiza quadrimaculata
- Pipiza sp.
- Platycheirus rosarum
- Platycheirus sp.
- Rhingia campestris
- Rhingia rostrata
- Scaeva albomaculata
- Scaeva pyrastri
- Scaeva selenitica
- Sericomyia lappona
- Sericomyia silentis
- Sphaerophoria rueppelli
- Sphaerophoria scripta
- Sphaerophoria sp.
- Sphegina sp.
- Spilomyia saltuum
- Syritta pipiens
- Syrphus ribesii
- Syrphus sp.
- Syrphus vitripennis
- Temnostoma bombylans
- Temnostoma meridionale
- Temnostoma vespiforme
- Tropidia scita
- Volucella bombylans
- Volucella inanis
- Volucella pellucens
- Volucella zonaria
- Xanthogramma citrofasciatum
- Xanthogramma pedissequum
- Xylota segnis
- Xylota sp.
- Xylota sylvarum