Description of the immature stages of Syritta flaviventris (Diptera: Syrphidae) and new data about the life history of European species of Syritta on Opuntia maxima

Abstract

Adults of Syritta flaviventris and S. pipens were reared from larvae collected on decaying platyclades of Opuntia maxima Miller (Cactaceae) from the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The larva and puparium of S. flaviventris, as well as preliminary data about its life cycle are described. The feeding behaviour of the larva in relation to the cephalopharyngeal skeleton morphology is analysed. Based on the present data, a comparative table containing the main morphological characteristics of the immature stages of European species of the genus Syritta is presented.

Keywords

• syrphidae
• syritta flaviventris
• syritta pipiens
• immature stages
• morphology
• feeding behaviour
• opuntia maxima
• spain