Syrphidae: Volucellini - US/Canada (in development)
Authors: Even Dankowicz
Last updated: June 2019
Help identify observations on iNaturalist:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?taxon_id=479390&place_id=6712,1
Volucellini
All species found in the US and Canada are included; the species list is based on Miranda et al. 2013 and the taxonomy is based on syrphidae.myspecies.info/
Copestylum
put general notes up here
green metallic | | thorax | abdomen | |
Eastern USA, rare | entirely shiny metallic green | entirely metallic green,~ black pilose | | |
Eastern USA/Canada, common | entirely shiny metallic green | metallic green, with pale base, ~white pilose | | |
AZ to TX | thorax shiny orange-brown, dorsomedially metallic green | orange-brown, tergites posteriolaterally metallic | see also eugenia, abdominale SE USA |
Copestylum
put general notes up here
unpatterned scutum, not green metallic | thorax | wings | abdomen | |
C. eugenia (?here) | FL | olive-greenish dorsally, more yellowish laterally - similar to abdominale | brilliant violet | wings yellowish, legs black, with yellow-red tibiae |
Cuba, Bahamas, ?S FL | very similar to eugenia, but with yellow triangular spot in front of scutellum and lateral margins of thorax more distinctly yellow | | | |
SE USA | ~evenly dark purple-brown, sort of striped, laterally lighter | ~hyaline/yellowish | ~dark, basally lighter brown | |
AZ to VA, FL | more or less evenly yellow-brown | hyaline | yellowish with six black spots | |
AZ, NM | laterally blue-black; scutum shiny blue-black; scutellum reddish | ~brownish light, apical and medial with some spots | dark metallic blue; face/frons orange | |
C. apicale | SE USA | dark-bodied | yellowish/~hyaline | frons yellowish |
C. lentum | ID to NM | scutum entirely shiny black in M or in F with white lateral stripes and posterior spots; scutellum yellowish | ~hyaline | black, often with medially separated lateral spots |
UT to WY, AZ, TX | entirely shiny black | hyaline, apical wing without small spots | entirely black, duller, larger, face/frons black | |
CA to CO, LA | entirely shiny black | hyaline, apical wing without small spots | entirely shiny black, smaller, face/frons reddish except genae | |
C. mexicanum | CA to GA, FL | entirely brown-black | entirely black | |
C. violaceum | CA to TX | entirely brown-black | entirely black | |
C. megacephalum | CA | more or less evenly brown | ~hyaline | ~red-brown |
C. volucre | ?SW USA | without bright posterior spots, but patterning unknown to me | somewhat infuscated | dark with some lighter stripes |
Copestylum
patterned scutum without distinctly separated posterior spots | thorax | wings | abdomen | |
AB to WY, CA, TX | laterally with some white; scutum shiny black with white lateral stripes, separate white posteriolateral stripes, two somewhat fused posterior white spots; whitish scutellum | ~hyaline, prominent subapical spots | tergites mostly white, dark posterior margins | |
BC to CA to TX | scutum shiny bronze with two weak dusty median vittae, creamy posteriolateral stripes, and creamy posterior spots mostly joined; scutellum yellow-brown | ~hyaline, apical part of wing hyaline | medially divided yellow spots on most of T2, T3, T4; otherwise black | |
AZ | scutum shiny black; laterally yellowish and posterior yellowish rectangle | basally yellow-brown infuscated, medially darker, apically hyaline | dark brown, extreme base lighter | |
CA, AZ | laterally creamy; scutum shiny black with two wide dusty median vittae, creamy lateral stripes, and creamy posterior spots joined into rectangle; scutellum yellow-brown | ~hyaline | yellow bands on anterior T2, T3; otherwise black | |
CA to TX | laterally brown; scutum thickly setose brown, with light [sometimes greyish] brown lateral stripes and light [sometimes greyish] brown posterior rectangularly fused spots; scutellum light brown | ~hyaline, R2+3 apical spot | mostly orange, gradually darker hind segment margins | |
CA to CO, NM | laterally light brown; scutum shiny grey-brown, with light brown lateral stripes and light brown rectangularly fused posterior spots | ~hyaline, R2+3 no apical spot | tergites mostly orange with dark posterior margins | |
C. sternale | ?AZ | resembles isabella;; black scutum, rectangular prescutellar spot, waxy yellow; sides broadly waxy yellow; | ~hyaline - see description in Curran 1930 | yellowihs brown darker fasciae |
AZ, NM, TX | laterally orange-brown; scutum shiny dark brown, with orange-brown lateral stripes and rectangularly fused orange-brown posterior spots; brown scutellum | ~hyaline, R2+3 no apical spot | tergites anteriorly orange-brown, posteriorly gradually dark brown | |
CA | scutum shiny black; laterally yellow-brown and posterior rectangularly-fused yellow-brown spots | ~hyaline | red-brown | |
AZ to VA, FL | laterally yellowish; scutum light brown to black with yellowish lateral stripes, rectangularly fused yellowish posterior spots; yellowish scutellum **sometimes | hyaline | yellowish with six black spots | |
TX to LA | scutum shiny dark brown, with variably sized spots, stripes, and scutellum--posterior spots white, rectangularly fused | ornate brown bands | orange to dark brown | |
S AZ | laterally yellow-brown; scutum shiny yellow-brown with 4 red-brown vittae; scutellum yellow-brown, without clear posterior spots | ~hyaline; prominent subapical spots | tergites yellow-brown with dark posterior margins | |
TX | scutum shiny yellowish with 4 dark brown stripes; scutellum dark brown, without posterior spots | yellowish | mostly dark brown, yellowish base | |
C. volucre | ?SW USA | without bright posterior spots, but patterning unknown to me | somewhat infuscated | dark with some lighter stripes |
Copestylum
put general notes up here
patterned scutum with separated posterior spots and normal antennae | arista | frons | scutum | wings | abdomen | |
Eastern USA | hair-like | black stripe and thin dorsal black band | shiny black; with unbroken white/yellow lateral stripes and elongate white/yellow posterior spots more separated, scutellum basally darker | A series of strong bands | tergites anteriorly yellowish, posteriorly black | |
TX to FL | hair-like | medial black stripe | shiny black; white strongly broken lateral stripes and round white posterior spots closer together, scutellum lighter | A series of strong bands | mostly black, anteriorly some white bands | |
CA, AZ | hair-like | black stripe and mildly thick dorsal black band | shiny black; white unbroken lateral stripes and round white posterior spots (which look a bit fused rectangularly faded medially) | mostly lemony with posterior margins of tergites black | ||
CA to TX | hair-like | medial black stripe | shiny black; yellow unbroken lateral stripes and elongate yellow posterior spots | ~hyaline, diffuse spots at crossveins, incld. near apex R2+3 apex with small spot | prominent white stripes on T2, T3, otherwise black | |
C. anastasia | MS to FL | *similar to vittatum | | shiny black, with tiny yellow spots in front of scutellum, which is yellowish | | |
Copestylum
put general notes up here
patterned scutum with separated posterior spots and doubled antennae: Complex Copestylum marginatum | arista | frons | scutum | wings | characters from Curran 1930 (also wing) | abdomen | |
C. limbipenne | TX | thickly feathered, broadened | black stripe and thick dorsal black band | shiny black; narrow white broken lateral stripes, and narrow elongate white posterior spots | 4th abdominal segment with abundant erect white pile (not prominent?) | black, with yellow spots | |
BC to SK, CA, TX | thickly feathery, broadened | black stripe and thick dorsal black band | shiny black; white broken lateral stripes (anteriorly thicker than marginatum/lentum) in F and relatively distinct/similar in M, and thicker elongate white posterior spots | ~hyaline | 4th abdominal segment with sparse, shorter, flattened whitish hairs | segments posteriorly dark, with anterior lighter spots/band | |
C. lentum | CA to ID, NM | thickly feathery, broadened | black stripe and thick dorsal black band | entirely shiny black in M; in F with white broken lateral stripes (anteriorly thinner than caudatum) and thinner posterior spots; scutellum yellowish | ~hyaline | 4th abdominal segment with abundant erect white and black pile; sternites black | black, often with medially separated lateral spots |
CA to CO, TX | thickly feathery, broadened | black stripe and thick dorsal black band | shiny black; broken lateral white/yellow stripe (anteriorly thinner than caudatum) in F, anteriorly dark and posteriorly very reduced in M, and thinner elongate white/yellow posterior spots | ~hyaline | 4th abdominal segment with abundant erect only white pile; S2-3 yellowish | black, with medially separated yellow lateral spots | |
C. simile | AZ, NM | thickly feathery, broadened | thick dorsal black band | scutum shiny black with narrow yellow lateral margin and two yellow posterior spots | ~hyaline | 4th abdominal segment with abundant erect only white pile; sternites mostly black | medially divided anteriolateral lighter spots; otherwise dark |
Ornidia obesa
O. obesa is found from NM to FL.
If you want you can put a table on this slide to review comparative morphology within a group. This can be instead of or in addition to subsequent slides. | | ||
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Volucella
Widespread
JH Skevington shared that there is a fourth species in “coastal lowlands from California to Washington” - https://bugguide.net/node/view/1815520/bgimage - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/16409102#activity_comment_5183402
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V. arctica | Rockies, Far Northern | scutum, pleuron entirely black pilose except directly behind wing bases | abdomen orange, yellow pilose | black face cuticle | |
Eastern | scutum, pleuron yellow pilose | variable? | black face cuticle | | |
widespread | scutum, pleuron yellow pilose | variable | yellow face cuticle | | |
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V. sp. | WA to CA, coastal | also an undescribed species | |||
Hawaiian species
E. arvorum, HI, © Steve Wells, iNaturalist / CC BY-NC
| body | wings |
C. apicale complex | dark-bodied | ~hyaline |
C. tamaulipanum | dark with white spots/strips | ornately banded |
O. obesa | metallic green | ~hyaline |
Sources
Hawaiian Volucellini:
Copestylum: