Cheilosia ( Cheilosia ) vulpina ( Meigen, 1822 )

Bot, Sander, Mengual, Ximo, Meutter, Frank Van de & Skevington, Jeffrey H., 2025, Review of the genus Cheilosia Meigen, 1822 (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the Caucasus, with the description of 14 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 1023, pp. 1-181 : 153-156

Cheilosia ( Cheilosia) vulpina ( Meigen, 1822)

Fig. 80

Syrphus vulpinus Meigen, 1822: 29 .

Chilosia conops Becker, 1894: 385 . Syn. by Claussen & Speight (1998).

Chilosia conops – Stackelberg & Richter 1968: 245. — Stackelberg 1970: 59. — Peck 1988: 100. Cheilosia vulpina – Stackelberg & Richter 1968: 250. — Stackelberg 1970: 59. — Barkalov 1993: 714. — Mengual et al. 2020: 22.

Differential diagnosis

Cheilosia vulpina can be confused with C. melanopa and C. redi , but in the male the scutum is shiny and the dorsal lobe of the postgonite is pointed ( C. melanopa and C. redi have scutum pruinose and dorsal lobe of the postgonite sickle-shaped) and in the female the metatibia entirely with yellow pile (anterolateral with black pile in C. melanopa ) and tergum IV medially with black pile (almost entirely or entirely with yellow pile in C. redi ). Cheilosia vulpina is a member of a group of closely related species, called the proxima group ( Vujić et al. 2013) in which the pilose eyes, posterior margin of scutellum with setae, usually partly yellow legs, continuously pilose katepisternum, pruinose sterna and the shape of postgonite are distinctive characters. Within this group C. vulpina stands out in having the face pilose ( Fig. 80B), a character only shared within this group in the Caucasus by C. pogonias sp. nov. The male can be identified from C. pogonias by having the abdomen partly with black pile, at least tergum III in posterior half with black pile (exclusively with yellow pile in C. pogonias ), parafacia narrower, about half the width of postpedicel (parafacia broad, about two third as wide as postpedicel in C. pogonias ), arista with pile, length equaling at least half the width of arista at base (arista nearly bare in C. pogonias ) and dorsal lobe of postgonite slender (basally broad, almost triangular in shape in C. pogonias , for a drawing of the male genitalia of C. vulpina , see Vujić et al. 2013). The female can be distinguished from C. pogonias by the black pile medially on tergum IV (tergum IV almost entirely or entirely with yellow pile in C. pogonias ).

Material examined

Not collected in 2018, but collected in 2022 and 2023.

ARMENIA – Syunik Province • 1 ♀; from Lichk to the Zvaravank Monastery; 39.05497° N, 46.171353° E; 1765 m a.s.l.; 16 May 2022; X. Mengual leg.; ZFMK, ZFMK-DIP-00093037 = ZFMK-TIS-8014431 . – Vayots Dzor Province • 2 ♂♂; W of Saravan ; 39.718437° N, 45.63076° E; 1590 m a.s.l.; 19 May 2022; X. Mengual leg.; ZFMK, ZFMK-DIP-00093413 = ZFMK-TIS-8014621 , ZFMK-DIP-00093415 = ZFMK-TIS-8014604 • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; ZFMK, ZFMKDIP-00093424 = ZFMK-TIS-8014626 .

GEORGIA – Mtskheta-Mtianeti • 1 ♀; Tbilisi N.P. ; 41.8808° N, 45.0203° E; 1270 m a.s.l.; 27 May 2022; X. Mengual leg.; ZFMK, ZFMK-DIP-00093892 = ZFMK-TIS-8014628 • 2 ♂♂; Tbilisi N.P. ; 41.877° N, 45.0138° E; 1250 m a.s.l.; 6 May 2023; F. Van de Meutter leg.; FMT, ZFMK-TIS-8028518 • 1 ♂; Lutkhubi ; 42.3867° N, 44.79° E; 1580 m a.s.l.; 6 May 2023; F. Van de Meutter leg.; FMT, ZFMKTIS-8028477 • 3 ♂♂; Lutkhubi ; 42.3951° N, 44.7847° E; 2138 m a.s.l.; 6 May 2023; F. Van de Meutter leg.; FMT • 4 ♂♂; Lutkhubi ; 42.3938° N, 44.7857° E; 2120 m a.s.l.; 6 May 2023; W. Opdekamp leg.; WOR, E005 , E008 , E014 , E016 • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; WOR, E003 • 1 ♂; Tbilisi N.P. ; 41.8770° N, 45.0137° E; 1248 m a.s.l.; 9 May 2023; S. Bot leg.; SBA, SB.002971 . – Samtskhe-Javakheti • 1 ♂; Sakire ; 41.7360° N, 43.3034° E; 1550 m a.s.l.; 10 May 2023; W. Opdekamp leg.; WOR, C009 • 1 ♂; Borjomi ; 41.8098° N, 43.3327° E; 850 m a.s.l.; 12 May 2023; W. Opdekamp leg.; WOR, A022 • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; WOR, A009 • 1 ♀; Dviri ; 41.7543° N, 43.2733° E; 1100 m a.s.l.; 12 May 2023; W. Opdekamp leg.; WOR, B011 .

Genetics

DNA barcodes of C. vulpina from Europe, Caucasus and Siberia cluster together with high support (BS = 100%).

Biology

During our expeditions, collected between 6 May and 27 May at an altitude between 850 and 2138 m a.s.l. Some males were hovering at a hilltop.

Distribution

Western and Central Palaearctic, into western Siberia. Within the Caucasus, known from Armenia, Georgia and Russia.

Species of Cheilosia removed from the hover fly checklist from the Caucasus

The species of Cheilosia in the following list are removed from the Caucasus checklist based on current knowledge and evidence, and their presence in the Caucasus Region might need corroboration based on new records.