Additional records of hoverflies from Malta are given; 9 species are recorded for the first time, 6 had been recorded by Rondani and one was discovered in the collections of the Natural History Museum of London. The nomenclature of Rondani's records is updated and the status of the species in Malta commented upon. The total number of species known from Malta is now 46.peer-reviewe

Ebejer, Martin J.

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The Central Mediterranean Naturalist - Vol. 2 (3) 1995 THE HOVERFLIES OF MALTA (DIPTERA: SYRPHIDAE), NEW RECORDS AND CORRECTIONS. M.J. Ebejerl ABSTRACT Additional records of hoverflies from Malta are given; 9 species are recorded for the first time, 6 had been recorded by Rondani and one was discovered in the collections of the Natural History Museum of London. The nomenclature of Rondani's records is updated and the status of the species in Malta commented upon. The total number of species known from Malta is now 46. INTRODUCTION Since my previous article on Maltese Syrphidae (Ebejer 1988) I have been able to examine Dr.P. Gatt's collection of Diptera and some of the specimens upon which Mr.J. Cilia had based his own hoverfly records (Cilia 1973) and to whose work I had referred. I have had the opportunity to go through Rondani's Prodromus which includes species not recorded again from Malta as well as Antonio Schembri's descriptions of two hoverflies (Rondani 1856-1880). With the publication of the Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera (Soos & Papp 1988) it has been possible to update the nomenclature. In addition, I have undertaken further collecting myself. As a result, there are several new records for the Islands and I have listed them below. Species about which there is a serious doubt as to their occurrence in Malta are in square brackets. Unless otherwise stated, the recorded material has been collected by me and is in my collection. SPECIES LIST SYRPHINAE Bacchini Xanthandrus Verrall 1901 Xanthandrus comtus (Harris 1782) Material examined: 4ei" ei", Wied il-Qlejgha, 8.xi.1992. 1 "Tamarisk", Triq P. P. Castagna, Balzan, Malta. 81 Rondani had recorded this species and Schembri et al. (1991), recorded it again on the basis of a single headless specimen collected by Cilia at Hamrun. Until now it was thought to be rare. However, I observed several males hovering high beneath White Poplars (Populus alba Linnaeus) at Wied il- Qlejgha. Syrphini Eupeodes Osten-Sacken 1877 Eupeodes nuba (Wiedemann 1830) Material examined: 1 r.i', Bahrija, 21. vi .1992. This is the only specimen I have seen in spite of checking the genitalia of many Eupeodes males in Dr. Gatt's collection and my own. It is very similar to several other species in the genus including E. corollae (Fabricius) which is one of the commonest hoverflies on the Island. Paragini Paragus Latreille 1804 Paragus a/bifrons (Fallen 1817) Material examined: 1 r.i', Mosta, 4.iv.1965, K.M. Guichard, Natural History Museum collections, London. I had overlooked this species in my own notes when I had searched the collections at the Natural History Museum in London. [Paragus majoranae Rondani 1857] This species was recorded by Rondani. It can be separated reliably from the above only by examination of the male hypopygium. There must therefore remain some doubt whether or not this species occurs in Malta and until its presence can be confirmed I do not consider it a member of the Maltese fauna. Ceriana Rafinesque 1815 Ceriana conopsoides (Linnaeus 1758) This was recorded by Rondani together with the similar species C. vespiformis (Latreille) which is still met with regularly but has not been found again. 82 MILESIlNAE Eristalini Eris'talinus Rondani 1845 Eristalinus megacephalus (Rossi 1794) Material examined: 1 ~, Wied Qannotta, 7. vii. 1987 ~ 1 r.i' and 2 ~ ~, Marsaxlokk, 27.ix.1992. Eristalis Latreille 1804 Eristalis arbustorum (Linnaeus 1758) Material examined: 1 ~, Buskett, 25.viii.1991; lr.i', Fiddien, 8.iv.1992; lr.i', Gozo, Wied ir-Ramla, 23.iv.1992; 1 r.i', Gozo, Wied il-Lunzjata, 23.iv.1992. Eristalis pratorum (Meigen 1822) Recorded by Rondani but has not been collected again, although it could easily be overlooked; Helophilus Meigen 1822 Helophilus trivittatus (Fabricius 1775) Material examined: 1 ~, Wied il-Ghasel, 29.iii.1979, S.P. Schembri~ in the collection of Dr. P. Gatt. Merodontini Eumerus Meigen 1822 Eumerus emarginatus (Loew 1848) Material examined: 1 r.i', Buskett, 14.iv .1977; 1 ~, Salina, 16.iv .1977; 1 ~, Fiddien 4.v.1988. This species was inadvertently omitted from my previous article. Eumerus nudus (Loew 1857) Material examined: 1~, Ghadira, 17.iv.1992. 83 Eumerus strigatus (Fallen 1817) Material examined: 2 ~, Rabat, Wied Ghomor, 31.iii.1992. Platynochaetus Wiedemann 1830 Platynochaetus setosus (Fabricius 1794) Rondani recorded this species which is fairly distinctive and not easily confused with P. rufus Macquart. It has not been found again. Merodon Meigen 1803 [Merodon albifrons (Meigen 1822)] Rondani recorded the occurrence of M varius in Malta. There are several closely related species in this group, including M geniculata Strobi which is common in Malta and M albifrons of which varius is a synonym. Without examining Rondani's specimen(s) from Malta, I cannot be sure which species Rondani was actually referring to. For the time being, therefore, the occurrence ofM albifrons in Malta remains doubtful. Pipizini Heringia Rondani 1856 Heringia heringi (Zetterstedt 1843) Material examined: 1 til' and 1~, Buskett, 25.viii.1981; ltil', Bahrija, 3.xi.1991; 1~, Buskett, 22.iv.1992; 1 til', Buskett, l.v.1992; 1 til' ,Girgenti, 18.iv.1993. Xylotini Syritta Le Peletier & Serville 1828 Syritta jlaviventris Macquart 1842 Material examined: 1 til' , Marsaxlokk, 27. ix.1992, P. Gatt, in his collection; 1 til', Wied Liemu, 22.viii.1993. This species is easily overlooked because in the field it looks so similar to the very common S. pipiens (Linnaeus). 84 DISCUSSION The currently accepted name for the genus Metasyrphus Matsumura is Eupeodes Wiedemann and the previously recorded species M corollae should now be included under the new name. Antonio Schembri described Sphaerophoria oleandri which is a synonym of S. ruppellii (Wiedemann) and Eumerus delicatae which is a synonym of E. pulchellus Loew (Soos & Papp 1988). I have two further species of Eumerus in my collection which I am unable to determine at present. Cilia's records for Chrysotoxum festivum (Linnaeus) and Platycheirus albimanus (Fabricius) may not be based on correct identifications (Cilia pers. comm.). He had given his collection to Dr. P. Gatt and a search has not revealed any specimens labelled as the above species. For the time being therefore, they cannot be considered as part of our fauna. The number of Syrphidae known from Malta is 46, including Rondani's five records which have not been found again. There is no doubt that more species will be recorded, considering the several possibilities of North African migrants. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to Dr.P. Gatt for allowing me access to his collection and to use his records. REFERENCES Cilia 1. (1973). An Entomologist's Diary: Diptera. The Maltese Naturalist Vol.4: 15-18. Ebejer M.J. (1988). Some records of hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) from Malta. En tom. Gazzette 39: 160-164. Rondani C. (1856-1880). Dipterologicae italicae Prodromus. Vol. I - VIII. Parmae, Italia. Sack P. (1932). Die Fliegen der Palaearktischen Region 4; 6, 31, 508 pp., 412 figs, 21 pIs. Schembri SP., Gatt P. & Schembri J. (1991). Recent records of Flies from the Maltese Islands (Diptera). Mem.Soc.Ent.ltal., Genova; 70 (1): 255-277. Soos A. & Papp L. 1988. Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera Vol. 8. Hungarian Academy of Science, Budapest. (Received December 1993) 85 

The hoverflies of Malta (Diptera, Syrphidae) : new records and corrections

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The hoverflies of Malta (Diptera, Syrphidae) : new records and corrections

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