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Parasyrphus vittiger (Zetterstedt, 1843)

Identification

Identification difficulty = 3. magnifier_icon camera_icon_question according to Ball & Morris, 20241

Synonymy

Syrphus vittiger Zetterstedt in Coe(1953)2.

Biology

The aphid-feeding larva has been found mainly on conifers (Abies, Picea and Pinus), but also on Beech Fagus sylvatica and, in Switzerland, on Black Currant Ribes nigrum. Adults are usually found in both deciduous and coniferous woodland, but they are often taken on heathland in southern England, where they are probably associated with invading Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris. They appear to be largely arboreal, but will descend to visit flowers in rides and clearings.

Flight period

The following plots show the number of unique records per week excluding those reported to be of immature stages. Phenology plots for Parasyrphus vittiger

Distribution

This species appears to be most frequent in northern Britain, especially the Scottish Highlands, but there are also records from the heathlands of southern-central England. There is one relatively recent record from Wales, and very few from the south-west peninsula or eastern England. Distribution map for Parasyrphus vittiger

Trends

The following plots show the Frescalo TFactor vs year and a map of the rescaled frequency (all records) for the species.Trend plots for Parasyrphus vittiger

  1. Ball, S., & Morris, R. (2024). Hoverflies of Britain and Ireland. WILDGuides (3rd ed.). Oxford: Princeton University Press. ↩

  2. Coe, R. (1953). Diptera: Syrphidae. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects, 10(1), 1–98. ↩