Scaeva albomaculata ( Macquart, 1842 )

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 : 50-51

Scaeva albomaculata ( Macquart, 1842)

( Fig. 57 )

Syrphus albomaculatus Macquart, 1842: 146

Examined specimens. 2♀, Asir, Abha, Madenate Al-Ameer Sultan , 9.vii–13.viii.2015, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah ( NMWC; CERS) ; 2♂, 3♀, Al-Riyadh, Al Aziziyah , 8.iii.1983, Talhouk & S.Tilkian ( KSMA; NHMB) ; 1♂, 1♀, same locality but 4.iii.1983 ( KSMA) ; 1♂, 1♀, same locality but 31.i.1982 ( KSMA) ; 4♂, 13♀, same locality but 4.iii.1983, 8.iii.1983, 30.i.1982, 14.vi.1981, 12.i.1982, 7.iii.1982, A. Talhouk & S. Tilkian ( KSMA) ; 1♂, 1♀, same locality but on Alfalfa , 15.viii.1980, A.Z. Alahmad ( KSMA) .

Distribution. The species was previously recorded from Saudi Arabia by Faragalla & Badawi (1985); Abu-Zohera et al. (1993) and El-Hawagry et al. (2019). It was described from Egypt and also recorded from the following areas; Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen; Palaearctic Region: Afghanistan, Algeria: Canary Islands, eastward through southern Russia, the Caucasus and southern Siberia to the far east and northern China, Egypt, Madeira, Iberian Peninsula, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mongolia, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and United Kingdom ( Peck 1988; Walker & Pittaway 1987; Hayat & Alaoglu 1990a; Palmer, 1996; Dousti & Hayat 2006; Naderloo et al. 2011; Khosravian et al. 2015; Sengupta et al. 2016; Speight 2020; Smit et al. 2017); Oriental Region: India, Pakistan ( Ghorpadé 2014).

Remarks. Pineda & Marcos-García (2008) collected S. albomaculata from rice fields and wild flowers in southeastern Spain. Ball & Morris (2000) reported that in Greece this species visits flowers such as Cytisus Desf. in dry grassland. Smit et al. (2017: 594) have stated the references to S. albomaculata in Gillett & Howarth (2004: 140) , Howarth (2006: 28), Gillett & Gillett (2002: 15) and Walker & Pittaway (1987: 107) are clearly misidentifications of E. luniger and have given reasons for arriving at this conclusion (see also Discussion. Therefore, these records of E. luniger should be regarded as misidentifications of S. albomaculata .

Genus Sphaerophoria Rondani

There are approximately 55 species of Sphaerophoria worldwide most of these found in the Palaearctic and Nearctic regions. Species of Sphaerophoria are predominantly associated with dry land, but it is apparent that some species prefer woodland reeds or marshes. Identification of most species is only possible by reference to male genitalia ( van Veen 2004). Sphaerophoria has the scutum bears a strong yellow line unbroken all the way from postpronotal lobe to scutellum. Sphaerophoria lacks the trochanteral spine that is diagnostic for the male of Ischiodon .

Figures

FIGURE 57. Habitus of Scaeva albomaculata (Macquart, 1842). Female, lateral view.