Wikipedia

Helophilus

Helophilus are a diverse genus of moderate to large hoverflies, that appear somewhat bee-like. This genus comprises two subgenera: Helophilus and Pilinasica.[2] Larvae filter-feed in organic rich water. All Helophilus adults have a distinctive lengthwise striped thorax and a transverse striped abdomen.[3][4]

Helophilus
Helophilus pendulus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Syrphidae
Subfamily: Eristalinae
Tribe: Eristalini
Subtribe: Helophilina
Genus: Helophilus
Meigen, 1822[1]

Description

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The species in genus Helophilus are large yellow-black hoverflies ranging in length from 9 to 16.5mm. They are very fast flies with big eyes. Most of these flies have yellow stripes on their scutum, large yellow-orange markings on their abdomen, and an elongate pterostigma on the wing.[5] Some special species are blue metallic (Helophilus hochstetteri)or black and white(Helophilus cingulatus).It looks like a bee as an adult.

Ecology

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Diet

Adults feed on pollen and nectar. They get protein from the pollen and energy from the nectar. Females often need to eat pollen before their eggs will develops. Larvae feed on the micro-organisms responsible for the decay in ponds and ditches.[6]

Foraging behavior

The flight period of Helophilus is mostly summer. In Europe, flight periods commence as early as March and conclude as late as October. [7]Helophilus rarely hovered, seeming to fly without hesitation from one flower to another.[8] When Helophilus was alarmed, they will change their flight to zig-zag flight which makes them look like bees.[9] They make large amplitude dorsoventral movements of their abdomen while they are foraging on flowers.[8]

Pollination

Most specices are not specialized. Some species have flower color requirements, such as Helophilus pendulus tended to prefer white and yellow flowers.[7]

Adults feed on pollen and nectar in flowers. They have more pollen-gathering hairs on the body so that pollen is collected while they sip nectar. This pollen is then groomed from the body by the legs and transferred to the mouth.[10] This genus is certainly a pollinator. They are not restricted to a limited home range and may carry pollen over longer distances than bees while foraging,[11] and over considerably longer distances during migration.[12] Migratory species may also be present in very high densities, which may make up for potentially lower pollinator efficiency.[13] Migratory pollinators may be particularly important for geographically isolated plant populations.[14]

Some species of genus Helophilus such as H.groenlandicus can lead to some self-pollination in P. laurentiana.[15]

Migration

There is a few species that migrate, such as H. trivittatus [16]and H. affinis. The migrated species are capable of crossing considerable stretches of ocean.[4]

Lifecycle

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The adults are short-lived and survived for a few days to a few weeks. The adults lay their eggs in water rich in nutrients and organic matter. The eggs hatch after a short period which is highly dependent upon temperature.[4] The larvae live in the mud at the bottom and have organs at the end of their bodies to help them breathe. The posterior end of the body is highly elongated into a telescopic siphon, which is extened to the surface and adjusted in length according to the depth of the water or mud. The larvae are called rat-tail maggots.[10] The larvae are similar to those of genus Eristalis, Eristalinus, Anasimyia, Lejops and Parhelophilus. [17] When fully grown, the rat-tailed maggots leave the water and make a small oval chamber in damp earth nearby.[10] Its skin hardens and protects the pupae inside.[10]

Distribution

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The Helophilus mainly distribute in Europe, North America, Asia and New Zealand. There is a few obversations in Africa and South America.[18]

The climate could influence the distribution. Helophilus tends to the warm and wet place. And the adults prefer the sunny places to sunbathe, such as the fresh leaves of Cow Parsley in Europe. [4]

New Zealand

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Distribution map of iNaturalist Helophilus spp. sightings in NZ.

The helophilus in New Zealand comprises 12 species, of which five species (H. antipodus, H.hochstetteri, H. seelandicus, H. cingulatus, H. campbelli ) are endemic.[19] The endemic New Zealand species are under the oldest genus-group name (Pilinascia), as a subgenus of Helophilus.[2] These species are the pollinators of the endemic plants. It has a significant impact on the reproduction of endemic endangered plants. H. antipodus is a pollinator of the endemic orchid Dendrobium cunninghamii on the main island.[20] H.hochstetteri serves as synergistic pollinators alongside honey bees for kiwifruit.[21]

Distribution

Helophilus distribute all around New Zealand, include islands.

Species

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References

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  1. ^ a b Meigen, Johann Wilhelm (1822). Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten europäische n zweiflugeligen Insekten. Hamm: Dritter Theil. Schulz-Wundermann. pp. x, 416, pls. 22–32. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b Thompson, F. Christian (2008-02-29). "A conspectus of New Zealand flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) with the description of a new genus and species". Zootaxa. 1716 (1). doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1716.1.1.
  3. ^ Coe, R.L. (1953). Diptera: Syrphidae, Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects Vol 10 Pt 1. Royal Entomological Society of London. pp. 98pp.
  4. ^ a b c d Stubbs, Alan E.; Falk, Steven J. (2002). British Hoverflies: An Illustrated Identification Guide (2nd revised ed.). British Entomological and Natural History Society. p. 469. ISBN 978-1899935055.
  5. ^ "Helophilus", Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America, Princeton University Press, pp. 58–65, 2019-05-14, doi:10.2307/j.ctv7xbrvz.13, retrieved 2024-10-13
  6. ^ Ball, S. G.; Morris, R. K. A. (2015). Britain's hoverflies: a field guide. WildGuides (2nd ed.). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-16441-0. OCLC 906925792.
  7. ^ a b Speight, M.C.D. (2011). "SPECIES ACCOUNTS OF EUROPEAN SYRPHIDAE (DIPTERA), GLASGOW" (PDF).
  8. ^ a b Golding, Y. C.; Edmunds, M.; Ennos, A. R. (2005-12-01). "Flight behaviour during foraging of the social wasp Vespula vulgaris (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) and four mimetic hoverflies (Diptera:Syrphidae) Sericomyia silentis , Myathropa florea , Helophilus sp. and Syrphus sp". Journal of Experimental Biology. 208 (23): 4523–4527. doi:10.1242/jeb.01932. PMID 16339871.
  9. ^ HOWARTH, BRIGITTE; EDMUNDS, MALCOLM (2000). "The phenology of Syrphidae (Diptera): are they Batesian mimics of Hymenoptera?". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 71 (3): 437–457. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2000.tb01268.x.
  10. ^ a b c d Early, John (2009). Know Your New Zealand Insects & Spiders. New Holland. ISBN 9781869662530.
  11. ^ Meyer, Birgit; Jauker, Frank; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf (2009). "Contrasting resource-dependent responses of hoverfly richness and density to landscape structure". Basic and Applied Ecology. 10 (2): 178–186. Bibcode:2009BApEc..10..178M. doi:10.1016/j.baae.2008.01.001.
  12. ^ Wotton, Karl R.; Gao, Boya; Menz, Myles H.M.; Morris, Roger K.A.; Ball, Stuart G.; Lim, Ka S.; Reynolds, Don R.; Hu, Gao; Chapman, Jason W. (2019). "Mass Seasonal Migrations of Hoverflies Provide Extensive Pollination and Crop Protection Services". Current Biology. 29 (13): 2167–2173.e5. Bibcode:2019CBio...29E2167W. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2019.05.036. hdl:10871/37621. PMID 31204159.
  13. ^ Kleijn, David; van Langevelde, Frank (2006-05-02). "Interacting effects of landscape context and habitat quality on flower visiting insects in agricultural landscapes". Basic and Applied Ecology. 7 (3): 201–214. Bibcode:2006BApEc...7..201K. doi:10.1016/j.baae.2005.07.011. hdl:2066/35758.
  14. ^ Pérez-Bañón, Celeste; Petanidou, Theodora; Marcos-García, Mª Ángeles (2007-08-14). "Pollination in small islands by occasional visitors: the case of Daucus carota subsp. commutatus (Apiaceae) in the Columbretes archipelago, Spain". Plant Ecology. 192 (1): 133–151. Bibcode:2007PlEco.192..133P. doi:10.1007/s11258-006-9233-1.
  15. ^ Campbell, Christopher S.; Famous, Norman C.; Zuck, Michael G. (1986). "Pollination Biology of Primula Laurentiana (primulaceae) in Maine". Rhodora. 88 (854): 253–260. JSTOR 23313937.
  16. ^ T.R., Nielsen; A.T., Andreassen; A., Leendertse; S., Svendsen (2019). "A migration of the Hoverfly Helophilus trivittatus (Fabricius, 1805) (Diptera, Syrphidae) to SW Norway in 2010". Norwegian Journal of Entomology.
  17. ^ Skevington, Jeffrey H.; Locke, Michelle M.; Young, Andrew D.; Moran, Kevin; Crins, William J.; Marshall, Stephen A. (2019-05-14). Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America. Princeton University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv7xbrvz. ISBN 978-0-691-19251-2.
  18. ^ "Search". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
  19. ^ "New Zealand Check List". iNaturalist NZ. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  20. ^ Lehnebach, C. A. (2004-06-01). "Pollination Ecology of Four Epiphytic Orchids of New Zealand". Annals of Botany. 93 (6): 773–781. doi:10.1093/aob/mch097. PMC 4242302. PMID 15113741.
  21. ^ Broussard, Melissa A.; Howlett, Brad G.; Evans, Lisa J.; McBrydie, Heather; Cutting, Brian T.; Read, Samantha F.J.; Pattemore, David E. (2022-06-09). "Pollinator identity and behavior affect pollination in kiwifruit ( Actinidia chinensis Planch.)". PeerJ. 10: e12963. doi:10.7717/peerj.12963. PMC 9188772. PMID 35702253.
  22. ^ a b c Barkalov, A.V. "Syrphidae collection of Siberian Zoological Museum". Novosibirsk, Russia: the Institute of Animal Systematics and Ecology, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on October 20, 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  23. ^ Wikispecies: Helophilus (Pilinasica) page - http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Helophilus_(Pilinasica)
  24. ^ Thompson, F.C. 2008: A conspectus of New Zealand flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) with the description of a new genus and species. Zootaxa, 1716: 1-20. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2008/f/zt01716p020.pdf


 

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