Sphaerophoria rueppellii ( Wiedemann, 1830 )

Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Al-Dhafer, Hathal & Turner, James, 2020, An overview of the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia, Zootaxa 4855 (1), pp. 1-69 : 51-53

Sphaerophoria rueppellii ( Wiedemann, 1830)

( Fig. 60 )

Syrphus rueppellii Wiedemann, 1830: 141

Examined specimens. 3♂, Al-Riyadh, Wadi Al-Dawaseer, Al-Joba village , 1.iii–30.iv. 2005, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah ( CERS) ; 1♂, Abha, Hay Al-Nusub ( Abha Farm Centre), 2.ii–25.v.2002 ; 2♀, same locality but 3.vi.2001 ( CERS) ; 1♂, Al-Riyadh, Al-Kharj , 80 km. S. Ar Riyadh, 5.xi.2007, H.Al-Dhafer ( KSMA) ; 1♀, Al-Riyadh, Ad Dir’iyah , 20 Km. W. Al-Riyadh, 7.xi.2007, rocket, Qurani ( KSMA) ; 1♂, same locality but 5km. NW. Al-Riyadh (on alfalfa), 21.iv.1992, A. Alabdulmoneim ( KSMA) ; 1♀, same locality but 5.iv.1993 on gargeer, A. Aziz ( KSMA) .

Distribution. This species was previously recorded for Saudi Arabia by Abu-Zoherah et al. (1993). It was described from Sudan and is further recorded from the following areas: Palaearctic Region; Afghanistan, Algeria, Canary Islands, China, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Korea, southern Norway, Mongolia, Morocco, Russia, Syria, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey; Afrotropical Region: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and Yemen ( Smith & Vockeroth 1980; Peck 1988; Whittington 2003; Birtele et al. 2010; Khosravian et al. 2015; Smit et al. 2017; Haffaressas et al. 2017; Speight 2020; Mebarkia et al. 2020); Oriental Region: China, India, Pakistan ( Ghorpadé 2014; Turk et al. 2015b).

Remarks. Pineda & Marcos-García (2008) found syrphid larvae preyed on aphids on sweet pepper plants in Spain. They found that 98% of the larvae collected from the infested plants were S. rueppellii . Amorós-Jiménez et al. (2012) reported that S. rueppellii prey on several aphid species considered to be pests of several Mediterranean crops. Ball & Morris (2000) reported that this species can be found in dry, rank grassland and other open, dry situations such as ruderal communities but it also occurs in damper situations. Adults fly within one meter of the ground amongst tall vegetation but in short vegetation (e.g. Limonium Mill. ) it flies lower and can be easily detected even by direct observation as it visits flowers, especially yellow composites ( Speight 2020).

Genus Syritta Lepeletier & Serville

The genus Syritta has been revised by Lyneborg & Barkemeyer (2005). There are approximately 25 species of Syritta most of these (14 species) are found in the Afrotropical region ( Lyneborg & Barkemeyer 2005; van Steenis 2010). The genus Syritta is easily recognized by the unique arrangement of setae on the ventroapical section of the hind femur ( van Steenis 2010). Adult females of Syritta feed on pollen whilst males feed on nectar ( Stubbs & Falk 2002). Larvae of other Syritta species are saprophagous and are found in manure, compost or dung, and rotting vegetable matter ( Ferrar 1987: 357). Human activity (e.g. farming of animals) can provide breeding sites suitable for larvae of these species ( Marcos-García et al. 2013). The genera of Syritta and Chalcosyrphus are superficially very similar and the identification of the latter from Saudi Arabia by El-Hawagry et al. (2013) was considered to be a misidentification of a Syritta species by Smit et al. (2017; see also discussion).

Figures

FIGURE 60. Habitus of Sphaerophoria rueppellii (Wiedemann, 1830). Male, dorsal view.