Kingdom Animalia Order Diptera Genus Microdon Higher classification Microdon | Phylum Arthropoda Family Syrphidae Scientific name Microdon mutabilis Rank Species | |
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Similar Microdon, Hoverfly, Fly, Insect, Microdon analis | ||
Microdon mutabilis, is a species of hoverfly. It is found in many parts of Britain and Europe. The distinctive almost slug-like larvae live in ants nests. They are hemispherical in shape, heavily armoured and believed prey on the eggs and larvae of a number of ant species, including Formica lemani, Formica fusca, Lasius niger and Myrmica ruginodis.
Description
External images For terms see Morphology of Diptera
Wing length 6-9 mm.Pterostigma 2-2.5 times as long as the length of the wing margin between ends of wing veins R1 and R2+3.Scutellum red or dark red.The male genitalia are figured by Doczkal & Schmid (1999) . Note M.mutabilis is only reliably distinguished from M.myrmicae by features of the puparium. See references for determination
References
Microdon mutabilis Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA