A new species of phytophagous flower fly (Diptera, Syrphidae), feeding on holoparasitic broomrape plants (Orobanchaceae) for the first time in Europe

Abstract

The first data on the interaction between a phytophagous hoverfly and holoparasitic broomrape plants in Europe is reported. Description of the new species Eumerus larvatus sp. nov. Aracil, Grković et Pérez-Bañón is presented from specimens feeding within the fleshy hypogeal stems of Cistanche phelypaea in different localities of Southeast of Iberian Peninsula. Both, adult and preimaginal morphology are studied, including also a molecular analysis based on COI gene sequences. The molecular data, together with the diagnostic morphological characteristics of the adult, indicate that the species belongs to the Eumerus tricolor species-group. This paper presents the first in-depth and detailed description of the preimaginal morphology of a representative of this species group, based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images.

Are Appearances Deceiving? Morpho-Genetic Complexity of the Eumerus tricolor Group (Diptera: Syrphidae) in Europe, with a Focus on the Iberian Peninsula

“…This species has been recently described from material collected in south-eastern Spain. The type locality is “SPAIN: Agost//Barranc de Pina” [ 24 ]. These authors separated males of E. larvatus from Eumerus compertus Villeneuve in Villeneuve & Gauthier, 1924, Eumerus mucidus Bezzi, 1921 and Eumerus turcmenorum Paramonov, 1927.…”

“…The Ibero-Balearic region (mainland Portugal and Spain, plus Andorra, Gibraltar and the Balearic Islands) hosts a great diversity of hoverflies, with 420+ species recorded [18][19][20][21]. The genus Eumerus is particularly diverse in the Ibero-Balearic region, with 37 species reported, of which 7 are endemic [22][23][24]. Nowadays, 9 species groups and a number of "individual species" (not assigned to a species group) have representation in the Ibero-Balearic area, with the E. tricolor group having the highest number of species included [22,24] Recent findings of new species of Eumerus in the Iberian Peninsula [14,[23][24][25] suggest that the Eumerus diversity from this area might be underestimated, especially for the highly diverse E. tricolor group, which has been poorly explored in this region.…”

“…The genus Eumerus is particularly diverse in the Ibero-Balearic region, with 37 species reported, of which 7 are endemic [22][23][24]. Nowadays, 9 species groups and a number of "individual species" (not assigned to a species group) have representation in the Ibero-Balearic area, with the E. tricolor group having the highest number of species included [22,24] Recent findings of new species of Eumerus in the Iberian Peninsula [14,[23][24][25] suggest that the Eumerus diversity from this area might be underestimated, especially for the highly diverse E. tricolor group, which has been poorly explored in this region. Thus, in the framework of an ongoing taxonomic revision of the Ibero-Balearic Eumerus, the objectives of the present work are to assess the diversity of this species group and to explore the taxonomy and systematic position of its species through an integrative approach.…”

“…The Ibero-Balearic region (mainland Portugal and Spain, plus Andorra, Gibraltar and the Balearic Islands) hosts a great diversity of hoverflies, with 420+ species recorded [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. The genus Eumerus is particularly diverse in the Ibero-Balearic region, with 37 species reported, of which 7 are endemic [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Nowadays, 9 species groups and a number of “individual species” (not assigned to a species group) have representation in the Ibero-Balearic area, with the E. tricolor group having the highest number of species included [ 22 , 24 ]: Eumerus azabense Ricarte & Marcos-García in Ricarte et al, 2018, Eumerus grallator Smit in Grković et al, 2019a, Eumerus grandis Meigen, 1822, Eumerus hispanicus van der Goot, 1966, Eumerus larvatus Aracil, Grković & Pérez-Bañón in Aracil et al, 2023, Eumerus ovatus Loew, 1848, Eumerus sabulonum (Fallén, 1817), Eumerus tarsalis Loew, 1848 and E. tricolor .…”

“…Recent findings of new species of Eumerus in the Iberian Peninsula [ 14 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] suggest that the Eumerus diversity from this area might be underestimated, especially for the highly diverse E. tricolor group, which has been poorly explored in this region. Thus, in the framework of an ongoing taxonomic revision of the Ibero-Balearic Eumerus , the objectives of the present work are to assess the diversity of this species group and to explore the taxonomy and systematic position of its species through an integrative approach.…”