Hoverflies (Diptera, Syrphidae) of Wrangel Island (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia)

Abstract

This article continues the series of publications devoted to the inventory of the arthropod fauna of Wrangel Island. It summarises previously unpublished data on about 150 specimens of hoverflies in total (Diptera, Syrphidae) collected by various methods (using individual catching, sweeping, yellow pan traps) from 1972 to 2019. Features of the fauna composition and the distribution of hoverflies on Wrangel Island are also discussed. A synopsis of the hoverfly fauna of Wrangel Island consists of 16 species, of which nine have been recorded from this territory for the first time, and one species, Platycheirus pullatus, is new for the Palaearctic region. The subfamily Syrphinae (15 species) includes all the genera which are typical for the tundra zone (Eupeodes, Parasyrphus, Platycheirus, Sphaerophoria, Syrphus), whereas the Eristalinae is represented by a single species, Helophilus groenlandicus. The core of the fauna is formed by arctic hoverfly species. About a third consists of widespread species which are common in the northern part of the tundra zone. The vast majority of the species found on Wrangel Island are known from singletons. The most common species is Parasyrphus groenlandicus. In some years, Parasyrphus tarsatus, Eupeodes curtus, Platycheirus aeratus, and P. setitarsis were locally common. On Wrangel Island, the richest hoverfly fauna (12 species) is located in the central, warmest, part, an enclave of a typical tundra subzone. Most of the species found only here (four out of six) were collected in the XXI century, during a warming climate. Despite the clearly incomplete information, the hoverfly fauna on Wrangel Island (where the biota has a long Pleistocene history) is much richer than on most other Arctic islands.

Keywords

• arctic
• fauna
• new record
• subzonal distribution
• tundra zone