Taxonomy
Parasyrphus lineola
Distribution
Species Biology
Preferred environment
Forest; conifer forest (Abies, Picea, humid Pinus) and conifer plantation. In Ireland, this conifer forest syrphid is confined to commercial conifer plantations. It is almost certainly a recent arrival in the island (Speight, 1974, 1985b), whose presence has been made possible by the extensive programme of conifer planting carried out in the latter half of the 20th century. It may thus be regarded as a highly anthropophilic species in Ireland.
Adult habitat & habits
Largely arboreal; descends to visit flowers.
Flight period
End April/July, and July/August at higher altitudes. Larva: described and figured by Goeldlin (1974); aphid feeding; Kula (1982) has established that the larvae of this species occur in the crowns of spruce (Picea) and that a proportion overwinter on the forest floor, among leaf litter.
Flowers visited
Yellow composites; white umbellifers: Acer platanoides, Achilea, Alchemilla, Anemone nemorosa, Calluna vulgaris, Caltha,Cardaminopsis, Galium, Inula, Meum, Petasites albus, Potentilla erecta, P. avium, P. cerasus, P. laurocerasus, P. spinosa, Ranunculus, Rubus fruticosus, Salix, Sambucus nigra, Sorbus aucuparia, Taraxacum, Triplospermum inodorum, Valeriana officinalis, Veronica, Viburnum.
Irish reference specimens
In the collections of NMI and UM
Determination
See Key provided in StN Keys volume. The male terminalia are figured by Hippa (1968b) and Vockeroth (1969). The adult insect is illustrated in colour by Torp (1994).
Distribution
World distribution(GBIF)
From Fennoscandia south to the Pyrenees; from Ireland eastwards through central and southern Europe (northern Italy, Balkans) into Russia; from the Urals through Siberia to the Pacific coast (Kamchatka, Sakhalin Is.); N America from Alaska to Quebec and south to Colorado and New Mexico.
Irish distribution
Added to the Irish list by Speight (1974). Additional Irish records have been published by Anderson (1987). The scattered records of this species in Ireland suggest it is well-established here, even if not frequent. It is widely distributed and frequent in northern and central Europe and ranges far beyond Europe, through northern parts of the Palaerctic and in the Nearctic.
Temporal change
Records submitted to Data Centre in 2024
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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.