[Syrphidae] Re: Sympatry in Sphaerophoria

Mon Sep 14 09:54:39 BST 2020

I am not surprised by the numbers of species found together - the 
ecological separation may be both the prey item and also the 
micro-climate. It is worth bearing in mind that despite the ideas of 
phytosociology linking invertebrates to a defined plant assemblage is 
problematic. My feeling is that within the UK fauna there is an 
assemblage that is essentaily associated with acidic (and ericaceous) 
conditions in which the habitat has both wet and dry zones and is 
fringed by acid grassland with large numbers of yellow composites.

I have found as many as five species (S. batava, S. philantha, S. 
virgata, S. fatarum and S. scripta)  on the same heathland sites in SE 
England but of those two are abundant in the north and west (S. 
philantha and S. fatarum), whilst one is highly localised (S. virgata) 
and one is primarily northern (S. fatarum). What I do wonder about is 
the future status of these species in SE England with increasing climate 
impacts.

Regards

Roger

On 14/09/2020 09:13, ximo mengual sanchis wrote:
> Many thanks Roger!
>
> Very interesting information. Somehow, each species has different 
> ecological requirements, but one can collect 2 or 3 species in the 
> same locality.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ximo
>
>
>
>
> El dom., 13 sept. 2020 a las 20:13, Roger Morris (<syrphid58 at gmail.com 
> <mailto:syrphid58 at gmail.com>>) escribió:
>
>     In the UK there is quite strong regional differentiation, with S.
>     philantha and fatarum being strongly northern and western but also
>     found in heathlands in southern England. S. potentillae is
>     confined to Culm grassland in the SW. S. taeniata and S. batava
>     are differentiated on habitat with S. taeniata more closely
>     associated with grasslands and S. batava with ericaceous scrub.
>     There are few records of S. virgata but this too seems to be a
>     heathland species. There remains a question mark for S. interrupta
>     but my feeling is that it is more a northern and western species.
>     No idea for S. bankowski!
>
>     Regards
>
>     Roger
>
>     On 13/09/2020 18:20, Menno Reemer wrote:
>>     In the Netherlands,  every Sphaerophoria species has its own
>>     habitat requirements, but some can be found in the same areas.
>>     For details, you could consult the species accounts in the book
>>     /De Nederlandse zweefvliegen/:
>>     https://www.bestuivers.nl/publicaties/de-nederlandse-zweefvliegen
>>     See chapter 10 pp. 311-318 for Sphaerophoria. These species
>>     accounts are based on the collective field experiences of many
>>     Dutch syrphidologists._They all have English summaries!_
>>     Also see appendix 6, which arranges all the species according to
>>     the habitats in which they occur.
>>     Best wishes,
>>     Menno
>>
>>
>>
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>     *From:* syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
>>     <mailto:syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>
>>     <syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>
>>     <mailto:syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk> on behalf of
>>     Robert Żóralski <robert at insects.pl> <mailto:robert at insects.pl>
>>     *Sent:* Sunday, September 13, 2020 4:21 PM
>>     *To:* ximo mengual sanchis <xmengual at gmail.com>
>>     <mailto:xmengual at gmail.com>
>>     *Cc:* Hoverfly discussion list <syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>
>>     <mailto:syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>
>>     *Subject:* [Syrphidae] Re: Sympatry in Sphaerophoria
>>     In Poland S. virgata is forest species, and rare. S. scripta is
>>     present on all possible types of meadows incl. ruderal areas,
>>     being sympatric with S. taeniata  and S. batava on e.g. forest
>>     glades and "good open areas", especially on coasts an along
>>     rivers - many times I gathered longer series of all three.
>>     S.philantha is extremely rare. S.interrupta is very rare.
>>
>>     niedz., 13 wrz 2020, 08:12 użytkownik ximo mengual sanchis
>>     <xmengual at gmail.com <mailto:xmengual at gmail.com>> napisał:
>>
>>         Dear all,
>>
>>         I have a question regarding Sphaerophoria. Based on my field
>>         experience, I would say that usually more than one
>>         Sphaerophoria species occur in the same locality.
>>
>>         I am interested on S. taeniata, virgata, scripta, interrupta
>>         and philantha. Can someone tell me if they are sympatric?
>>
>>         I collected in the same place scripta and taeniata, for
>>         example. Is it the same for philantha and virgata? or
>>         taeniata and interrupta?
>>
>>         Cheers,
>>
>>         Ximo
>>
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