Taxonomy
Pipiza festiva
Distribution
Species Biology
Preferred environment
Forest; alluvial forest and orchards. P. festiva is primarily a species of alluvial forest, with a secondary habitat in fruit orchards. The Irish locality, woodland on the shores of L. Neagh, would be in some ways similar to alluvial forest.
Adult habitat & habits
Fast-flying, up to 3-4m from the ground, round trees and shrubs.
Flight period
April/June and August/October. Larva: described and figured by Dusek and Laska (1959), from larvae found feeding on gall-making aphids of the genus Pemphigus, on Populus. The larval biology is described by Rojo and Marcos-Garcia (1997), who found larvae on Populus, fruit trees (Prunus spp., Pyrus) and shrubs (Pistachio spp.). From oviposition to emergence of adults, development takes approximately 1.5 months, but may be interrupted by larval diapause. Overwintering also occurs in larval diapause.
Flowers visited
Hedera.
Irish reference specimens
In the collections of the UM
Determination
Specimens in which the tarsomeres are entirely yellow may be separated from other Pipiza species using the keys in Verlinden (1994). However, specimens in which the tarsi are partially darkened cannot be reliably separated from other species, especially the taxon usually referred to as P. noctiluca (L.), using existing keys. The adult insect is illustrated in colour by Bartsch et al (2009b) and Haarto & Kerppola (2007).
Distribution
World distribution(GBIF)
From Belgium and the Netherlands south to the Mediterranean; from Spain eastwards through southern and central Europe to the Caucasus and on into Asiatic parts of Russia to as far as the Pacific (Sakhalin). P. festiva is not known from Britain. In continental Europe, the species ranges from the Netherlands south to the Mediterranean zone and from Spain eastwards through central and southern Europe into Russia and on to the Pacific. In Belgium and the Netherlands it is regarded as decreasing and under some degree of threat, but not elsewhere.
Irish distribution
Added to the Irish list by Speight (2002), who discusses the doubtful provenance of the only known Irish specimen. Known Irish material is limited to one female specimen labelled as collected from Rea's Wood. (Co.Antrim). If the presence of P. festiva in Ireland is confirmed by discovery of more specimens it would be necessary to regard it as threatened here. But, until and unless more Irish material of this species is discovered the status of P. festiva as an Irish species will remain very doubtful (see Speight, 2002).
Temporal change
Records submitted to Data Centre in 2025
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References
Publications
Speight, M. C. D. (2008) Database of Irish Syrphidae
(Diptera). Irish Wildlife Manuals, No. 36. National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Dublin, Ireland.
Speight, M.C.D. (2014) Species accounts of European
Syrphidae (Diptera), 2014. Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae,
vol. 78, 321 pp., Syrph the Net publications, Dublin.