Merodon is a large genus of
bee-like
hoverflies. The majority of the species are centered on the
Mediterranean and it is the second largest hoverfly genus in
Europe with more than 50 European species. It is distributed over the
Palaearctic and
Afrotropical realms, with most European species occurring in
Southern and
Eastern Europe. The centre of distribution of this genus appears to be Turkey, where about 65 species have been recorded. Some species occur in Africa (Morocco through East Africa and Ghana to South Africa) and the middle East, as far as Pakistan. Given the rate at which new species have been recorded over the past decades, the worldwide number of species could exceed 200. The
larvae feed on the bulbs or
rhizomes of
monocotyledons.
One of the more common species in the genus, Merodon equestris is known as the Narcissus bulb fly, greater bulb-fly, large bulb fly or large Narcissus fly.
^Evenhuis, Neal L. (2020). "The hazards of Nomenclatural Archaeology? The Diptera names of Theodorus van Swinderen in his 1822 Index Rerum Naturalium quae conservantur in Museo Academico Groningano". Zootaxa. 4859 (3): 383–396.
doi:
10.11646/zootaxa.4859.3.4.
^Stubbs, Alan E. & Falk, Steven J. (1983). British Hoverflies: An Illustrated Identification Guide. British Entomological & Natural History Society. p. 253, xvpp.
ISBN1-899935-05-3.
Merodon is a large genus of
bee-like
hoverflies. The majority of the species are centered on the
Mediterranean and it is the second largest hoverfly genus in
Europe with more than 50 European species. It is distributed over the
Palaearctic and
Afrotropical realms, with most European species occurring in
Southern and
Eastern Europe. The centre of distribution of this genus appears to be Turkey, where about 65 species have been recorded. Some species occur in Africa (Morocco through East Africa and Ghana to South Africa) and the middle East, as far as Pakistan. Given the rate at which new species have been recorded over the past decades, the worldwide number of species could exceed 200. The
larvae feed on the bulbs or
rhizomes of
monocotyledons.
One of the more common species in the genus, Merodon equestris is known as the Narcissus bulb fly, greater bulb-fly, large bulb fly or large Narcissus fly.
^Evenhuis, Neal L. (2020). "The hazards of Nomenclatural Archaeology? The Diptera names of Theodorus van Swinderen in his 1822 Index Rerum Naturalium quae conservantur in Museo Academico Groningano". Zootaxa. 4859 (3): 383–396.
doi:
10.11646/zootaxa.4859.3.4.
^Stubbs, Alan E. & Falk, Steven J. (1983). British Hoverflies: An Illustrated Identification Guide. British Entomological & Natural History Society. p. 253, xvpp.
ISBN1-899935-05-3.