Parasyrphus melanderi
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| Parasyrphus melanderi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Larva of P. melanderi (pale) resting between a pupating C. aeneicollis larva (l.) and a C. aeneicollis pupa (r.). | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Syrphidae |
| Genus: | Parasyrphus |
| Species: | P. melanderi |
| Binomial name | |
| Parasyrphus melanderi (Curran, 1925) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Scaeva relicta Zetterstedt, 1838:603 Parasyrphus relictus Zetterstedt Stenosyrphus melanderi Curran 1925:103 | |
Parasyrphus melanderi is a flower fly (family Syrphidae) that is best known as a larval predator on the leaf beetle Chrysomela aeneicollis in the Sierra Nevada range of California.[2]
Adults are medium-sized flies (approximately 6-11mm). The dorsal side of the fourth abdominal segment (and usually the third segment) have an entire yellow band (rather than black), and the face has a black median stripe. In males, the ventral side of the abdomen (sternites) has few or no distinct markings, and in females, the sternites have spots or triangles and the facial stripe is no more than one-quarter the as wide as the face.[1] Eggs of P. melanderi are white and are smaller than the eggs of their prey Chrysomela aeneicollis in California. Mature P. melanderi larvae are 14–16mm long and approximately 3mm in diameter. Larvae have pale markings with thin dark brown stripes anterior to them.[3]
Range
The holotype of this species was collected by Doctor Melander on Mount Constitution, Washington on July 22, 1919.[4] Vockeroth (1992) described the range as boreal and western Canada.[1] Populations have been documented feeding on Chrysomela aeneicollis in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California.[3]
