Exhyalanthrax afer is a member of the fly family Bombyliidae first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1794.[3]

Exhyalanthrax afer
Female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Bombyliidae
Subfamily: Anthracinae
Tribe: Villini
Genus: Exhyalanthrax
Species:
E. afer
Binomial name
Exhyalanthrax afer
Synonyms

Biology

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Larvae feed on pupae of tachinid and ichneumonid parasitoids of the pine processionary caterpillar, Thaumetopoea pityocampa. The pupae of other Lepidoptera and from cocoons of the pine sawfly, Neodiprion sertifer. Adults are most often seen visiting flowers to feed on nectar.[4]

Distribution

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Afrotropical: Chad, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Yemen. Oriental: Pakistan. Palaearctic: Afghanistan, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, China (Beijing, Nei Monggol, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France (incl. Corsica), Germany, Gibraltar, Greece (incl. Lesbos), Gruzia, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Libya, Macedonia, Malta, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia (WS), Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (incl. Ibiza, Mallorca), Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yugoslavia,[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Fabricius, Johan Christian (1794). Entomologia systematica emendata et aucta. Tome IV. Hafniae [=Copenhagen]: C.G. Proft. pp. [6] + 472 + [5] pp. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b Meigen, J.W. (1820). Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten europäische n zweiflugeligen Insekten. Aachen: Zweiter Theil. Forstmann. pp. xxxvi + 363. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  3. ^ Hull, F.M. (1973). Bee flies of the world. The genera of the family Bombyliidae. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 687 pp. ISBN 0-87474-131-9.
  4. ^ D.J. Greathead; P. Grandcolas (1995). "A new host association for the Bombyliidae (Diptera): an Exhyalanthrax sp. reared from cockroach oothecae, Heterogamisca chopardi (Dictyoptera: Polyphagidae) in Saudi Arabia" (PDF). The Entomologist. 114 (2): 91–98. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  5. ^ "World Catalog Family Bombyliidae Latreille (part 1 (Oligodraninae through Bombyliinae, p. 1-206) -" (PDF) (Revised ed.). Bishop Museum. September 2003. pp. 1–206. Retrieved 12 January 2009.