Microdon mutabilis
| Microdon mutabilis | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Syrphidae |
| Genus: | Microdon |
| Species: | M. mutabilis |
| Binomial name | |
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Microdon mutabilis (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
Microdon mutabilis, is a species of hoverfly. It is found in many parts of Britain and Europe. The distinctive almost slug-like larvae live in ants nests. They are hemispherical in shape, heavily armoured and believed prey on the eggs and larvae of a number of ant species, including Formica lemani, Formica fusca, Lasius niger and Myrmica ruginodis.
External images For terms see Morphology of Diptera
Wing length 6-9 mm.Pterostigma 2-2.5 times as long as the length of the wing margin between ends of wing veins R1 and R2+3.Scutellum red or dark red.The male genitalia are figured by Doczkal & Schmid (1999) . Note M.mutabilis is only reliably distinguished from M.myrmicae by features of the puparium. See references for determination
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