Aneriophora
Taxonomy
This page represents the following TreeOfLife-200M taxonomic path.[1]
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Diptera
- Family: Syrphidae
- Genus: Aneriophora
Visual Description
Aneriophora is a genus of large hoverflies, with A. aureorufa reaching a body length of approximately 14 mm.[2] Observations from the TreeOfLife-200M dataset reveal that these flies possess dense, bright orange pilosity covering the thorax and abdomen, giving them a robust appearance.[1] The wings exhibit a distinct dark macula at the apex.[2] This coloration and morphology are considered to be a form of mimicry of the austral American bumblebee, Bombus dahlbomii.[2]
Ecology and Distribution
Aneriophora is a monotypic genus, represented by A. aureorufa. It is endemic to South American temperate forests, with a distribution spanning from the Maule region in central Chile to the Aysén region in southern Chile, and extending into the south-central east border of Argentina.[2]
The species is highly specialized, with a strong association with the flowers of the endemic tree Eucryphia cordifolia (Cunoniaceae), which serves as its primary source of nectar and pollen.[2] It has also been observed visiting Myrceugenia planipes and Laurelia sempervirens.[2] A. aureorufa is most frequently found in old-growth forests and is considered rare in fragmented or disturbed habitats.[2]
Gallery
References
- 1 2 Dataset view for Animalia / Arthropoda / Insecta / Diptera / Syrphidae / Aneriophora constructed from imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M records under this taxonomic path. Hugging Face Datasets. https://huggingface.co/datasets/imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cecilia Smith; Lorena Vieli; Rodrigo M. Barahona‐Segovia. <i>Aneriophora aureorufa</i> (Philippi, 1865) (Diptera: Syrphidae): a fly specialized in the pollination of <i>Eucryphia cordifolia</i> Cav. (Cunoniaceae R. Br.), an endemic species of South American temperate forest. Journal of Pollination Ecology. 2021. https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2021)618.