Ceriana vespiformis (Latreille, 1804)

Ceria vespiformis Latreille, 1804: 194 . Type locality: Barbaria (Nw. Africa) & Italy.

Ceria scutellata Macquart, 1842: 70 . Type locality: Algeria.

Ceria intricata Saunders, 1845: 64 . Type locality: Albania.

Material examined: 1 female, 14.IV.1924, leg. Efflatoun; 2 males, 2 females, I.1919, leg. Efflatoun [ESEC].

World distribution: PA: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey.

Egyptian localities: Coastal Strip: Mex. Lower Nile Valley & Delta: Biala, Gezeireh. [Sources: Efflatoun (1922, 1925) and the examined museum material borrowed from ESEC].

Activity period in Egypt: May to August.

Remarks: Efflatoun (1925) bred this species from larvae found in the flowing sap of a diseased white mulberry ( Morus alba) at Gezeireh. The adult flies fast through more open areas of Mediterranean scrub vegetation at up to 1 m from the ground, emitting a very audible, high-pitched whine; it settles on vegetation or on the bare ground surface (Speight 2017).