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

Scaeva selenitica (Meigen, 1822)

Frühe Großstirnschwebfliege

  • Scaeva selenitica, female 5161
    Scaeva selenitica (Meigen, 1822)  Frühe Großstirnschwebfliege   
    Scaeva selenitica, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Harthwald; 2012-03-27 12:16:47
    Image number: 5161
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Harthwald
    2012-03-27 12:16:47
  • Scaeva selenitica, female 5160
    Scaeva selenitica (Meigen, 1822)  Frühe Großstirnschwebfliege   
    Scaeva selenitica, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2012-03-24 11:31:52
    Image number: 5160
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2012-03-24 11:31:52
  • Scaeva selenitica, female 5312
    Scaeva selenitica (Meigen, 1822)  Frühe Großstirnschwebfliege   
    Scaeva selenitica, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Harthwald; 2012-03-27 12:16:22
    Image number: 5312
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Harthwald
    2012-03-27 12:16:22
  • Scaeva selenitica, male 9329
    Scaeva selenitica (Meigen, 1822)  Frühe Großstirnschwebfliege   
    Scaeva selenitica, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Morgenleite; 2020-06-01 11:07:53
    Image number: 9329
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Morgenleite
    2020-06-01 11:07:53
  • Scaeva selenitica, male 9330
    Scaeva selenitica (Meigen, 1822)  Frühe Großstirnschwebfliege   
    Scaeva selenitica, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Morgenleite; 2020-06-01 11:07:42
    Image number: 9330
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Morgenleite
    2020-06-01 11:07:42
  • Scaeva selenitica, male 9331
    Scaeva selenitica (Meigen, 1822)  Frühe Großstirnschwebfliege   
    Scaeva selenitica, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Morgenleite; 2020-06-01 11:08:11
    Image number: 9331
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Morgenleite
    2020-06-01 11:08:11
  • Scaeva selenitica, male 9332
    Scaeva selenitica (Meigen, 1822)  Frühe Großstirnschwebfliege   
    Scaeva selenitica, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Morgenleite; 2020-06-01 11:08:16
    Image number: 9332
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Morgenleite
    2020-06-01 11:08:16

Classification:
Scaeva selenitica belongs to the subfamily Syrphinae, tribe Syrphini.
Distribution:
From Fennoscandia and the Faroes south to Iberia and the Mediterranean, including North Africa; from Ireland eastwards through much of Europe into Turkey and European parts of Russia; from the Urals through Siberia to Cis-Baikal and on to Sakhalin and the Kuril Isles.
Habitat:
Deciduous and coniferous forests, orchards, evergreen Quercus ilex forest in southern Europe.
Migratory individuals can be found in wide variety of habitats (roadsides, grassland, gardens).
Description:
Body length 12 - 15.5 mm; thorax shiny; abdomen with 3 pairs of curved yellowish spots; spots on tergites 3 and 4 with the inner and outer ends equidistant from the anterior margin; lateral margins of the sternites throughout yellow, blackening often limited to a narrow median strip; frons swollen; eyes hairy; females: eye hair longer than the size of a posterior ocellus; males: angle between the eyes greater than 150°.
The 3rd instar larvae are green, or partially or completely brown, with whitish medial line on dorsum.
Similar species:
A similar species is Scaeva dignota. In the males, the frons is normal and the angle between the eyes is less than 120°. The females differ in the length of the eye hair. In Scaeva dignota, the length of hair on the eyes is shorter than the size of a posterior ocellus. For Scaeva dignota the flight time starts later in the year (from May).
Biology:
Scaeva selenitica flies from March to September. The species shows a pronounced migration behavior.
Adults are flower visitors. The females fertilized last year appear on sunny winter days and in early spring. They are often found on flowering shrubs and trees to take a nectar and pollen meal. After oviposition and preimaginal development the next generation starts to fly from May.
The larvae feed on aphids on coniferous and deciduous trees and shrubs.
Scaeva selenitica overwinters as an imago.
Note:
The male from 2020 has probably hatched recently and is not yet fully coloured.

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.
  5. Speight, M.C.D. & Sarthou, J.-P. (2014) StN keys for the identification of the European species of various genera of Syrphidae (Diptera) 2014 / Clés StN pour la détermination des espèces Européennes de plusieurs genres des Syrphidae (Diptères) 2014. Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae, Vol. 80, 125 pp, Syrph the Net publications, Dublin
  6. Láska P., Pérez-Bañón C., Mazánek L., Rojo S., Ståhls G., Marcoz-García M. A., Bičík V. & Dušek J.: Taxonomy of the genera Scaeva, Simosyrphus and Ischiodon (Diptera: Syrphidae): Descriptions of immature stages and status of taxa, Eur. J. Entomol. 103: 637–655, 2006, ISSN 1210-5759