Platycheirus urakawensis (Matsumura), a hoverfly new to Europe (Diptera: Syrphidae)

4 Pages·2001·1.4 MB·

by  Sörensson, M

Platycheirus urakawensis (Matsumura), a hoverfly new to
Europe (Diptera: Syrphidae)
MIKAEL SORENSSON
Sörensson, M.: Plar r-cheirLts ur.lkatteisis (Matsumura.), lr hovelJly new to Europe (Dipte-
m: Syrphidae) lPlatlche 'us urakawensis (Matsumura), en blomlluga ny för Europa
(Diptera: Syrphidae)l Entomologisk Tidskrift 122 (4). 169-1'72. Lund, Sweden 2001.
ISSN 0013 886x.
The hoverfly PLrtlcreirun- urakawensis (Matsumura), previously known fiom the eastern
Palaearctic and North America, is recorded for the fil.st time from Europe and the western
Palaearctic. The finding site, a steep roadside rich in llowering plants at 370 400 m on the
hillbp Altarliden in ro hem Sweden, is described and depicted. The site is typical of the
boreal laiga with Pice.r abies as the dominating tree species. Chamclers lor sepirsting
lemales of P uakawen.sis from P albinanus (F.) are presented and illustrated in a key.
MikaeL Sörcnsson, Zoological Insfihtte, Dept. of Slsten(1tics, Helgonav. 3, SE-22-] 62
Lund. Sweden. E-tnuil: <ntikael.sorenssott@zlx .lLt.se>
Introduction
The Diptem family Syrphidae - hoverflies - has Norway, 26 of which, i.e. 2/3 of the Scandinavian
attracted much attention lately by Scandinavian launa- extend their distribution into the Nearctic
entomologists. The Fennoscandian Syrphid fau region.
na is rather rich in species amounting to nearly Tentflli\ely l6 oul t)l'Jq Scrndinar ian .pecies
400, about 60 of which seem to display a truly may be legarded as borerl. borco-arctic or rrctic
boreul. boreo-arctic or arctic distribution patlern. (Bartsch 2001, Nielsen 1999), having their main
Species of Pkttyclteirus Lepeletier & Serville distribution within the taiga belt ard/or arctic
make up about a fou{h of this latter group. zone (5 dso occur in alpine or mountainous
The aphidophagous genus P/44,c/relrirs is one zones in Central Eulope). Only three of these (P
of few Syrphid genera with a pronounced boreal L.ttimanus Wahlbetg, P nelanopsis Loew, P. kit
distribution protile in the northern hemisphere tilaensis D. & L.) have not been recorded from
lVocker,'th lqoO). Within the triga zone it is North America (Vockeroth 1990). This is a clear
often the dominant genus. The success of P/df,- indication that many trLtly \ortherf. Plut),cheirus-
cftelrrs in northern latitudes can be explained, at species have a circumpolar distribution, and that
least in part, by their dependence on aphids, a probably some other species previously recorded
primary resource avarLlable td inlinit r? in those fi'om North America and/or eastern Asia will turn
areas. out as Holarctic when studied more intensely. An
Quite a number of arctic and boreal species of illustrative example to the latter assumption
P L(tj c heirus htrve a very wide distribution within provides the recent, quite surprising find ofP i.rr-
the Palaearctic and Nearctic rcalms. Vockeroth .1&dx,ersls (Matsumura) in norfhem Sweden.
(1990) listed 10 Platycheirus-species from the
Nearctic. 23 of which also occur in the Palae- Platy cheirus urakaveasis in Sweden
arctic region. Nielsen ( i999) and Bartsch (2001) P urtLktLwensis is a species so 1är recorded fiom
Iisted 39 PlaD,cheirus-species fiom Sweden and the easterl Palaearctic and a few widesplead
169
Mikael Sörenxson Ent. Tidsk 122 (2001)
Fig. 1. Leti: Map ol Stnnclitttt,ia ,.itll collectinll site for P. utaLawensis (rcd dot). Right: Collectittg site .lbr P
urakargensis on the ntountair AbarLklen, northern Swedetl.
Vijnster: K(1 a övr Skandinavien ned.fl,ntllokalen liir P rakawensis itlritdd (rö.1ptitk). Haiger: Fltldlokaletl
Jiit P, urakave sis pri Altculiden t'i.l Rusktrtisk i L),&sele lappntark
localities in northern Nofth America. lts center boreal forests of northem Scandinavia constitute
ofdistribution is apparently in the eastern Palae the westernmost part of the vast taiga region of
ctic (Kamchatka, Primorie, the Kurile islands, northern Palaearclic. The lowland between the
Chabarovsk, Korea, Japan) wherc it primarily coast of the Baltic sea and the Scandinavian
occurs in high altitudes (Ohara 1980, Mutin & morntain chain. about 250 km wide. is charac-
Barkalov 1999). Öhara (1980) recorded P ,1r'd- terized by an undulating topography mainly
(pwc,.rir abundrnll) from mounlJin regions in coveled by managed coniferous forest. The
Japan, stating that it was the most common spe- terrlin Iise. westwilrd\ toward. the mountain
cies of the genus. The previously westernn.lost chain, here and there inte[upted by river valleys
rccord in the Palaearctic region was Nepal and minor hills and peaks, the latter usually
(Vockeroth 1990). reaching an altitude of 300-700 meters and
Swedish material of P i.ira,tawersis was first covered by lbrests.
identilied by Hans Bafisch in 2000. One male Altarliden rises 492 meters above sea level
caught in July 1999 in Swedish Lapland aroused and dominates its immediate sunoundings. All
the suspicion of the collector (MS) and it was captures of P urekawensis were made at 370-
sent to Bartsch. His identitication was later con- 400 meter. lltitude on rr slope by rtt open- u in-
firmed by Tore R. Nielsen. ding roadside close to a dense tree margin. The
In total 7 Swedish specimens are known,2 mature, rather wet forest was dominated by
males and 5 females, all from a single locality in spruce (Picea abies), with pine (Plrzus sl/vest-
southeastern Lapland and caught between the ris),birch (Betula sp.), aspen (Populus tetnula)
l5th and 25th of July. The fil.St find of a male in and willow (Sal.ix caprea) intermixed. The first
July 1999 was more or less accidental. In July specimen of P untkrLvvensis was not noticed in
2001 the locality was revisited and 6 further rhe [ield due to il\ greal resemblrnce lo ils
specimens were sampled, possibly indicating congener Platycheirus albinanus (.F.), a species
thrl P /,r./&.ir cflrir might not be a ntre species. occuring abundantly on the same spot. On the
The mountain Altarliden, the Swedish collec- leturn t\ o year\ later smrller. dlrker specimens
ting site ofP urukawensis, is located in northern ol PLatycheirus were specifically searched fot'
Sweden, about 30 km north of Lycksele at the by scanning flowels and tlying Sytphids, or by
south side of rivet Vindelälven (fig. 1). The wide general sweeping of the vegetation.
170
Ent. Tidskr. 122 (2001 ) Itld!\'(hairus ur(tkorcnsi.t tlett ll) EuftP?
Specinrens <tf P urakatran.si.t wete nrainly Öhara (19E0) and Vockeroth ( 1990) regalcled
observcd l-lying rather close to thc Some fenrales ol ll arzrkrrrrtl.r'l.v as insepalable from P
-cround.
were seen visiting llowers such as Rralancrtlas albimtuttts.ln the key below the morphological
s p.. G e ru n i u nt st' ! vl i c u nt tnd Ru bu s i tl u a u s, the charrctcrs which I have fbuncl mosl r'cliable lbr
latter growin-s in lalge, tall patches. Others werc distinguishing f'erralcs of the species are sum-
obsclvcd cruising arnong stalks of grass. The marized. The key is based on Swedish mate al
habit in genelal did not seem to clivetgc 1't ott't ol P albinrunus (n=50) with which the tive Swe-
P I Llt \'( lrc i ru s d I b i 111a''1 Lt s. dish ftrlales of P r/1r{.rrr?r.sl.r were compaled.
As lnentioncd lbove P r/z/ialltrl.rl.r occtrrl-cd
in ralhcr low nunbers. [t was oulnumbeled by Kcy to females of P. ulbimanus and P. ura-
.,llr.lil
irr elrrse relrrtirt. f.,tl I'iut,trtrr, \\ llicll c\ kewensis
!\ir\ \ccl) rn lur;c tttttrthcts lllttrv or te-tin: ott L Fcmo|a ot firr-e and lrid-legs yellow. La|gcr. broa
\(g(tirti,rr. ( )llr.r \f<cics ol P/,/i.r1y'h i/1i. der. llaler coloured species- Face Lrsually bronzc or
ling simulhneously werc P Ro'nlcdcrlnlli. bluish, dull due 1() densc pollinosity. Third rnlenno-
P yrlogurtus (Zcllersledt), P/r 1/xrl7rlr4r1/l,1/.rr,r (Mcigen) fmtiellry-e. uPsousatlolyc uwluit hs clatar'-e9 ecrl.o dsies tilnoc tin oterarinogre o scpLollat lv econrt-
zrnd P. Llytalus (Meigen). ner usually pale. Longest scutcllar-blislles pale.
The biology ol P. urukowut.\is is not known. Lowcr hallof anterior nresopleuror (anepistcmum)
Vrckeloth ( 1990) cited JapaDcsc obseNrtions of slighlly obscured by fine reticuliilion. Hind libia
lrr\irl pr((lirliLrr ,'rr tlre upltid M.\.tt\ I't t.\itttr usually yellorv on basll l/J-l/.1. Abdonren broader-
(Sulzer). a comlnon pest on vtrious plants. spots on tcr,sitcs 2 ,1 larger. silvery. sonrctinrcs widl
slight bluish tingc. pollinose spots on T3-.1 largc.
clistinctly quadrlle. (fig. 3a-6r.) Lcrgth: 6.-5-8 mn.
Recognizing P/alyc h ci rut u rsA( w c n s i s
A\ $ii\ r'ernillkc(l rbovc P itrirÅtrrrirr.ls i' vet) Fenora ol lbrc and nricl legs wilh extensive bhck
closc to lhe common aDd wiciesprcad P rilåii'rr- r-ing coveling mid 2/J's. Snlaller. slender'. clarker'
irirs (F.) rncl cannol with celtainty be distingui- species. Frcc blackish wilh slight bluish tinge.
shed in the fleld. Urrder thc rrlicroscolle. how- r{ther shining nredially. dcnsely polliiose only at
sides. Venlral spol on third anlennonlcre vilgue.
ever, sevelal clistincl dillerences appear-
snrallcr. darker. Pos()culilr setae pdle with a ft\\'
Öhrra (1980) carefllly reclcscribed the nrale lrlrck selre closcly behind interiol-ocu]rr colner.
and female ol P rftrk./1r,.,/rJiJ brsed on Japanesc LonScst sculellar brislles black. Lower hallofante
matcrial, and provided sonre excellent illustra- rio- rnesoplelron brilli{nl. Hind libia black cxccpt
tions o1'diagnostic chilnctelistics of the rntle. l,'t b \xl l/lU AhLlo rct lr. t',ucr. tcrlite.pot,
incJuding head (fr-ontal and Iatcral view), anten- snraller. on tergile 2 usually intenscly blue- polli
nae, fbrc leg. nlrcLrlitte pattern of abdorlren and nsiodsees slp ontse orno uTndl ezdl .s r(nfiagl.l.3 vba g6ube.)l yL deenlgintehd:6. -i7n lelnrmio.r
genititlia. He also illustrated {llc m culate p!it-
tern of the femalc abdomen.
Vockeroth (1990) included P. albirtturtus. P
Acknowledgements
urukdwensi.s. P. scLiLltu.\ (Meigen). P. igrttfc-
Hrns Brrtsch Urst identitied P razrlar|casls. Roy Da
,i.)/zrlr.r Kanervo ,ntl P ciliatus Bigot in the
nielsson geller'ously rllowcd nrc to stu.ly the collec-
"albimanus sub-vtoup" (2c) undet the inlitmal
lions ol thc Ztxrlogical Museum in Lund, Håktn
"albimanus group". He redescribccl the male of
Ljungber.r ancl Tore R. Niclscn kindly improved the
P. albinqnus and provided diagnostic descrip-
nldnLrscript. All arc hercby greally acknowledgcd-
tions ()1'1he other species included in the subgro
up, also illustratin-q tllc lbre legs.
Relerences
Males ofall these species arc casily identitied Ba|tsch. H. 2001. Swedish ptovincc catalogue [oI ho-
on their charrctcristic conliguration of the 1i)rc verl'lies (Diptera. Syrphitlae). Ent. Tidskr. l2:
legs (t'ig.2), inclutling tarsomcrcs. tibial lbrm. (,1):189-215.
pubescence and sctltion. Ohara (l9lJ0) antl Mutin. V A. & A. V. Barkalov. 1999. Key to thc in
Vrckc|oth (1990) give further delails on male sects ol Russilur Frr East. Vol. 6. Diptela and Si-
chlracteristics. phonxpterr. parl l. Dal'nauka. Vlaclivoslok.
17t
Miknel Slircnsson Ent. Tidskr. 122 (2001)
(
h
tr
2^
]C----------->
lmm t/ .a
Fig.2-6. Dia|nostic clturactets.for separutiotl ol P albituanus (a)tnd P. urakawensis (b) 2. Male .foreleg.3-6
Fenmle abclonen (3), llind tibia (4), mid fenur (5), anterior ntesopleuron (6).
Fig. 2-6. Diagnostiska karaktärer för besttimninll 4v P- albi anus (4)ocllP utukove sis(b) 2 Ho1ens.from-
ben. 3-6. Honans bakkropp (3), bakskenben (41, meltttnlår (5), fränte del av nrcsopleLo?n (6).
Nielsen, T.R. 1999. Checklist and distribution maps skogslandet med dominans av gran och tall samt
of Norwegian hoverflies, with description of inslag av björk, asp och sälg. Trots avverkning i
Platyclrcirus Lrskai nov. sp. (Diptera, Syrphidae). sen tid linns på berget fodarande ganska omfat-
Fagrapport 035. NINA, Trondheim. tande urskogsliknande rester kvar med mycket
öhara, K. 1980. The genus Plarycheirus Lepeletier gamla trädindivider.
and Senille, 1828 (Diptera, Syryhidae) of Japan, Fyndlokalen utgörs av en blomrik vägslänt,
with descriptions of three new species. Esakia
fläckvis fuktad av källdng, som gränsal mot ett
15.97 -142.
Vockeroth, J. R. 1990. Revision of the Nearctic spe bryn av mogen granskog belägen på 370-400 m
cies ol Plcttlclrcirus (Diptera, Syrphidae). - höjd. Sammanlagt erhölls två hanar och fen]
juli
Canadian Entomologlst 122:659--1 66. honor, alla tagna i 1999 och 2001, llygande
bland grås eller snår av hallon, eller sittande på
Sammantattning smörblommor eller midsommarblomster
Fynd av blomflugan PLatycheirLts urakawensis Afien står nära P. albimnnus (F.) vars honor
(Matsumura) från berget Altarliden norr om tidigare inte kunnat skiljas frin P urakawensi.g.
Lycksele i Lycksele lappmark presenteras. Arten Medan hanar lätt skiljes på bl.a. fiambenens ut
var tidigare närmast känd fi'ån Nepal, med seende, se Vockeroth (1990) och fig. 2, utmärkes
huvudutbredningen förlagd till Ostpalearktis den mörkare och spensligare honan av P rra-
och Nordamerikä. Sannolikt hör den till den bo Åaweirsis främst av svar1fläckiga fram- och mel-
rcala taigafaunan med många andra arter av lik- lanlår, mera glänsande ansikte, långa svarta sku
nande vida, stundom cirkumpolät'a utbrednings tellatborst, nästan helsvärta bakskenben, samt
mönster Altarliden är en av många likartade dovare färgad bakkropp med mindre puder-
smärre höjder idet sydlappländska, boreala lläckirr och rent blå rnetallllickar (fig. .1 6).
1',72