Faunal and Population Studies of Syrphid Flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) in Ilam

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

1 Former Graduate Student in Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University

2 Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University

3 Ph.D Student in Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University

Abstract

In addition to the abundance and population fluctuation of the common species, the fauna of syrphid flies of the northern parts of Ilam Province were studied during the period 2003-2004. In total, 30 species of syrphids including 21 predatory species, 8 saprophages species and one phytophagus species were identified. All species are first records from Ilam Province. The results of population abundance obtained from Malaise traps during 2004 indicated that Episyrphus balteatus (De Geer), Eupeodes corollae (Fabricius) and Scaeva albomaculata (Macquart) are among the most frequently occurring species and also important predators of aphids in this region. The population fluctuation of these three species showed that the highest population levels of adults occur in early spring.

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