Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) ➔ Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods) ➔ Class Insecta (Insects) ➔ Order Diptera (True flies) ➔ Family Syrphidae (Hoverflies)

Pipiza bimaculata Meigen, 1822

Synonyms and other combinations:

Pipiza chalybeata Meigen, 1822 | Pipiza geniculata Meigen, 1822 | Pipiza guttata Meigen, 1822 | Pipiza humilifrons Violovitsh, 1985 | Pipiza sachalinica Violovitsh, 1988 |

  • Pipiza cf. bimaculata, male 770
    Pipiza bimaculata Meigen, 1822     
    Pipiza cf. bimaculata, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2009-07-19 09:50:56
    Image number: 770
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2009-07-19 09:50:56
  • Pipiza cf. bimaculata, male 771
    Pipiza bimaculata Meigen, 1822     
    Pipiza cf. bimaculata, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2009-07-19 09:50:16
    Image number: 771
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2009-07-19 09:50:16

Distribution:
Palearctic: From Ireland to Mongolia, throughout Central Europe, from the Mediterranean only known from Spain and Yugoslavia.
Habitat:
Preferably in deciduous forest and forest edges, especially in deciduous forests on mineral-rich soils with well-developed herbaceous and shrub layer, even in acidophilous oak forest.
Description:
Body length 5.5 - 8.5 mm; wings bright, without dark spot; abdomen strongly shiny, in females with small spots on the 2nd segment; hind femora not thickened; feet dark; males: face black hairy.
A similar species is Pipiza noctiluca. In particular, the males are not reliably determinable.
Biology:
Pipiza bimaculata flies in two generations from May to August. The Imagines visit blooming trees, shrubs and herbs.
Pipiza larvae preferably feed on gall-forming aphids. Larvae of Pipiza bimaculata were found near an aphid colony on bird cherry (Prunus padus). The larvae ignored the offered aphids during their growth and attacked Epistrophe larvae.

References, further reading, links:
  1. Pape T. & Thompson F.C. (eds) (2017). Systema Dipterorum (version 2.0, Jan 2011). In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2017 Annual Checklist (Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds.). Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2017. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-884X.
  2. Gerald Bothe: Bestimmungsschlüssel für die Schwebfliegen (Diptera, Syrphidae) Deutschlands und der Niederlande, DJN, 1984, ISBN 3-923376-07-3
  3. M.C.D.Speight: Species Accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera), Glasgow 2011, Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae, vol. 65, 285 pp., Syrph the Net publications, Dublin.
  4. Menno Reemer, Willem Renema, Wouter van Steenis, Theo Zeegers, Aat Barendregt, John T. Smit, Mark P. van Veen, Jeroen van Steenis, Laurens van der Leij: De Nederlandse Zweefvliegen (Diptera: Syrphidae), Nederlandse Fauna 8, 2009.