Volucella

Volucella
Volucella pellucens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Syrphidae
Subfamily:	Eristalinae
Tribe:	Volucellini
Genus:	Volucella (Geoffroy, 1762)
Species
See text

Volucella is a genus of large, broad-bodied, dramatic hover-flies. They have distinctive plumose aristas and the face is extended downward.^[1] They are strongly migratory and males are often territorial. Adults feed on nectar of flowers and are often seen sunning on leaves. The larvae of most species live in nests of bumblebees and social wasps, where they are detritivores and larval predators.^[2]

Species

Volucella abdominalis Wiedemann, 1830 Volucella anastasia Hull, 1946 Volucella anna Williston, 1887 Volucella apicalis Loew, 1866 Volucella apicifera Townsend, 1895 Volucella avida Osten Sacken, 1877 Volucella barei Curran, 1925 Volucella bombylans (Linnaeus 1758) Volucella comstocki Williston, 1887 Volucella dracaena Curran Volucella elegans Loew, 1862 Volucella eugenia Williston, 1887 Volucella florida Hull, 1941 Volucella fraudulenta Williston, 1891 Volucella haagii Jaennicke, 1867 Volucella inanis (Linnaeus 1758) Volucella inflata (Fabricius, 1794) Volucella isabellina Williston, 1887 Volucella jeddona Bigot, 1875 Volucella linearis Walker, 1849[3] Volucella liquida Erichson in Wagner, 1841 Volucella lutzi Curran, 1930 Volucella macrocephala Giglio-Tos, 1892 Volucella matsumurai Han & Choi, 2001[3] Volucella megacephala Loew, 1863

Volucella mexicana Macquart, 1842 Volucella nigra Greene, 1923 Volucella nigricans Coquillett, 1898 Volucella nigropicta Portschinsky, 1884 Volucella opalescens Townsend, 1901 Volucella pallens Wiedemann, 1830 Volucella pellucens (Linnaeus 1758) Volucella plumatoides Hervé-Bazin, 1923 Volucella postica Say, 1829 Volucella pusilla Macquart, 1842 Volucella quadrata Williston, 1891 Volucella satur Osten Sacken, 1877 Volucella sternalis Curran, 1930 Volucella suzukii Matsumura, 916 [3] Volucella tamaulipana Townsend, 1898 Volucella tau Bigot, 1883 Volucella tricincta Bigot, 1875 Volucella unipunctata Curran, 1926 Volucella vesicularia Curran, 1947 Volucella victoria Williston, 1887 Volucella zonaria (Poda, 1761)

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Gallery

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  Volucella bombylans var. bombylans female

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  Volucella bombylans var. plumata female

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  Volucella inanis female

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  Volucella pellucens female

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  Volucella inflata female

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  Volucella zonaria female

References

1. Coe, R.L. (1953). Diptera: Syrphidae, Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects Vol 10 Pt 1. Royal Entomological Society of London. pp. 98pp.
2. Stubbs, Alan E. and Falk, Steven J. (1983). British Hoverflies: An Illustrated Identification Guide. British Entomological & Natural History Society. pp. 253, xvpp.
3. Ichige, Katsuyoshi. "Japanese Hoverfly photograph collection". Mito-city, Japan. Retrieved 5 August 2009.