Helophilus seelandicus

Helophilus seelandicus, commonly known as the three-lined hoverfly, is a hoverfly endemic to New Zealand. The common name corresponds to the three black lines behind the insect's head.

Helophilus seelandicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Diptera
Family:
Syrphidae
Subfamily:
Eristalinae
Tribe:
Eristalini
Genus:
Helophilus
Species:
H. seelandicus
Binomial name
Helophilus seelandicus
(Gmelin, 1790)
Synonyms
  • Musca seelandica Gemlin, 1790

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1790 and named Musca seelandica.[1] The taxonomy of this species was most recently discussed by F. Christian Thompson in 2008.[2]

Description

The adult fly is approximately 15 mm in length.[3]

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[4][2]

Life cycle

H. seelandicus maggots live in water with decaying vegetation, animals or dung.[5]

Interaction with humans

Despite being native to New Zealand, this species is commonly reported to the Ministry of Primary Industries Pest and Disease Hotline.[6]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Helophilus seelandicus.
Wikispecies has information related to Helophilus seelandicus.
  1. Linné, Carl von; Gmelin, Johann Friedrich (1788–93). Caroli a Linné. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Vol. 1 (Ed. 13., aucta, reformata. Cura Jo. Frid. Gmelin. ed.). Lipsiae: Lipsiae, impensis Georg. Emanuel. Beer. p. 2870.
  2. F. CHRISTIAN THOMPSON (29 February 2008). "A conspectus of New Zealand flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) with the description of a new genus and species". Zootaxa. 1716 (1): 1. doi:10.11646/ZOOTAXA.1716.1.1. ISSN 1175-5334. Wikidata Q97484288.
  3. "Three-lined hoverfly". www.landcareresearch.co.nz. 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  4. "Helophilus seelandicus (Gmelin, 1790) - Biota of NZ". biotanz.landcareresearch.co.nz. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  5. Crowe, Andrew (2002). Which New Zealand Insect?. Penguin Books. p. 63. ISBN 0141006366.
  6. Doddala, Prasad; Haw, James; France, Santha; Anderson, Diane; Marinov, Milen; Flynn, Alan (2018-07-30). "What's buzzing? A snapshot analysis of pest notifications". New Zealand Plant Protection. 71: 351. doi:10.30843/nzpp.2018.71.203. ISSN 1179-352X. S2CID 59348884.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.