The genus Sphegina Meigen (Diptera, Syrphidae) in a biodiversity hotspot: the thirty-six sympatric species in Kambaiti, Myanmar

Abstract

The material of Sphegina collected by René Malaise in Kambaiti, Myanmar, in 1934 includes S. (Sphegina) kumaoniensis Mutin and the following 35 new species: S. (Sphegina) uncinata, S. (Asiosphegina) achaeta, S. (A.) adusta, S. (A.) atricolor, S. (A.) bidens, S. (A.) bilobata, S. (A.) carinata, S. (A.) cerina, S. (A.) crassispina, S. (A.) crucivena, S. (A.) culex, S. (A.) cultrigera, S. (A.) ensifera, S. (A.) falcata, S. (A.) forceps, S. (A.) forficata, S. (A.) furva, S. (A.) gigas, S. (A.) index, S. (A.) malaisei, S. (A.) minuta, S. (A.) mirifica, S. (A.) nasuta, S. (A.) pollex, S. (A.) pollinosa, S. (A.) parvula, S. (A.) pusilla, S. (A.) radula, S. (A.) raduloides, S. (A.) siculifera, S. (A.) simplex, S. (A.) sinesmila, S. (A.) subradula, S. (A.) trichaeta and S. (A.) trispina. A key to the studied species is given. The world fauna of Sphegina now comprises 120 species.

Two new European long-legged hoverfly species of the Eumerus binominatus species subgroup (Diptera, Syrphidae)

“…In several hoverfly genera like Platycheirus and Eumerus (Dziock 2002; Reemer et al 2009) the males use their legs in signalling for female attraction. In other genera the legs are used as part of the mimicry, like in Spilomyia which wave their prolegs in front of their head imitating the long antennae of Hymenoptera (van Steenis 2000; Penny et al 2014) or in Sphegina which have their long metalegs hanging down in flight recalling sphecid wasps (Hippa et al 2015). The remarkable long legs in the binominatus subgroup can have either of these functions and behavioural studies should clarify this in the future.…”

Revision of the Oriental species of the genus Sphegina Meigen, 1822 (Diptera: Syrphidae)

“…The genus Sphegina Meigen, 1822 is Holarctic-Oriental in distribution with 120 described species, of which 72 are Holarctic and 49 Oriental (Pape & Evenhuis 2018;Hippa et al 2015). Milesia clunipes Fallén, 1817 was designated as type species of Sphegina by Westwood (1840).…”

Origin and diversification of hoverflies: a revision of the genera Asarkina and Allobaccha – A BIG4 Consortium PhD project

“…These "true flies" are well known pollinators of crops and natural plants (Ssymank andKearns 2009, Inouye et al 2015) and their economic importance cannot be overstressed. Adults feed mostly on pollen and nectar and have been used as bioindicators as well to assess biodiversity loss and the efficiency of restoration and conservation policies (Sommaggio 1999, Tscharntke et al 2005, Ricarte et al 2011, Sommaggio and Burgio 2014.…”

“…The Afrotropical and Indomalayan Regions have been somewhat neglected or understudied during the last decades but it has seen a resurgence with a broader interest in syrphid workers since the 2010's (Doczkal et al 2016, Jordaens et al 2015a, Jordaens et al 2015b, Mengual and Ghorpadé 2010, Mengual 2015, Mengual et al 2013, Reemer and Hippa 2008, Thompson and Skevington 2014, Thompson 2013a, Thompson 2013b, Thompson 2013c, Thompson 2014, Thompson 2015, Steenis 2010, Steenis 2015, Mengual et al 2008a, Mengual et al 2008b, Mengual et al 2012, Hippa et al 2015, Whittington 2003. Allobaccha and Asarkina are two such groups that need a thorough taxonomic review because the last taxonomic works are more than fifty years old (Curran 1927, Curran 1928, Curran 1938, Sack 1926, Keiser 1952, Keiser 1971.…”