Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Syrphidae
Subfamily: Syrphinae
Tribe: Syrphini
Genus: Melangyna
Subgenus: Melangyna (Austrosyrphus)
Species: M. novaezealandiae
Binomial name: Melangyna novaezealandiae
Synonyms: Syrphus novaezelandiae, Syrphus novaeselaniae, Syrphus ortas, Syrphus rectus.
Common name: Large hoverfly, New Zealand flower fly, Large Predacious Hoverfly.
Large hoverfly (Melangyna novaezelandiae ) is a widespread native flower fly on all islands of New Zealand.
It has a body length of 7.0 to 10.4 mm.
The adult. feeds largely on nectar and pollen and is a useful pollinator. This flies maggots are insectivorous and feeds on aphids and scale insects.
The larvae of M. novaezelandiae have been reported feeding on the Pineus pini (pine woolly aphid), Acyrthosiphon kondoi (Bluegreen aphid), Aphis fabae (black bean aphid), Brevicoryne brassicae (cabbage aphid), Elatobium abietinum (green spruce aphid), Macrosiphum rosae (Rose aphid.), Nearctaphis bakeri (Clover aphid), Rhopalosiphum padi (Bird Cherry-Oat Aphid), scale insects,on the larvae of Chironomidae and Syrphidae, and on caterpillars of several species of Lepidoptera. it also feeds on the larvae of the diamondback moth ( Plutella xylostella) a pest in brassica crops.
For more details visit: http://syrphidae.lifedesks.org/pages/25653
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