Rhingia campestris

Rhingia campestris is a species of hoverfly, 7–11 millimetres (0.3–0.4 in) long, with a wingspan of 12–18 mm (0.5–0.7 in). It is common across the Palearctic from March until November. It has a broad orange abdomen with a black line along the sides (the black line is absent along the sides of Rhingia rostrata), and has the distinctive long snout of all Rhingia species. Rhingia campestris is the main pollinator for many plant species[2] and due to its long snout it can forage on tubulous flowers. Larvae are associated with cow dung. Adults males feed on nectar, while adult females feed on protein rich pollen, reflecting the cost of developing eggs.

Rhingia campestris
male
female
Scientific classification
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R. campestris
Binomial name
Rhingia campestris
Meigen, 1822
Synonyms [1]

Technical description

Description

External images For terms see Morphology of Diptera
Wing length 5·5–7 mm Snout straight, longer than the diameter of the eye in side view. Tergites with black hind edge and side margins and often with a black mark in the middle of the tergite. Pre-genital sternite black-haired. Tibiae red. See references for determination[3][4][5][6]

Distribution

Palearctic Fennoscandia South to the Pyrenees, Spain and the Mediterranean basin. Ireland East through Europe into European Russia and the Caucasus then to Siberia, Mongolia and the Russian Far East to the Pacific coast. [7][8]

Habitat.Poland.R.campestris is all but absent where cattle are penned.

Biology

Habitat: Wood and wetland occurring most frequently on land where cows are grazed. Can feed at pink flowers which have concealed nectar sources, making them unusable by other flies with less extended mouthparts.[9]

gollark: They probably can't/won't eternally torture you, but there's a *possibility* of that infinite harm which is reduced by giving them £100, and if you accept the Pascal's Wager logic you should do that.
gollark: There's actually another similar thing, Pascal's *Mugging*, in which someone comes up to you and says "give me £100 or I will eternally torture you after you die".
gollark: But there are an infinitely large number of possible gods, and some do weirder things like "punish/reward entirely at random", "have no interest whatsoever in humanity", "punish people who believe in other gods", and all that, and Pascal's Wager just *ignores* those.
gollark: Pascal's Wager might work if the only options are "no god" or "one god, and it's the one you believe in, and they'll reward you if you believe and punish you otherwise".
gollark: Also, I should be specific, "a god and associated religious claims", not just "a god".

References

  1. Stubbs, Alan E. & Falk, Steven J. (1983). British Hoverflies: An Illustrated Identification Guide. British Entomological & Natural History Society. p. 253, xvpp.
  2. Van Der Kooi, C. J.; Pen, I.; Staal, M.; Stavenga, D. G.; Elzenga, J. T. M. (2015). "Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers" (PDF). Plant Biology. 18: 56–62. doi:10.1111/plb.12328. PMID 25754608.
  3. Van Veen, M. (2004) Hoverflies of Northwest Europe: identification keys to the Syrphidae. 256pp. KNNV Publishing, Utrecht.addendum
  4. Van der Goot,V.S. (1981) De zweefvliegen van Noordwest - Europa en Europees Rusland, in het bijzonder van de Benelux. KNNV, Uitgave no.32: 275pp. Amsterdam.
  5. Bei-Bienko, G.Y. & Steyskal, G.C. (1988) Keys to the Insects of the European Part of the USSR, Volume V: Diptera and Siphonaptera, Part I. Amerind Publishing Co., New Delhi. ISBN 81-205-0080-6.
  6. Coe, R.L. (1953) Diptera: Syrphidae. Handbks.ident.Br.insects, 10(1): 1-98. R.ent.Soc.London. pdf
  7. Fauna Europaea
  8. Peck, L.V. (1988) Syrphidae. In: Soos, A. & Papp, L. (eds.) Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera, 8: 11-230. Akad.Kiado, Budapest.
  9. Speight, M.C.D. (2011). "Species accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera)" (PDF). Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae. 65: 285pp.


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