Species details

Melangyna ericarum (Collin, 1946)

Nomenclature

Syrphus ericarum Collin in Coe (1953).

Biology

The larvae of Melangyna are aphidophagous, but those of M. ericarum are as yet unknown. Adults have been recorded from native Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris woodlands in the Scottish Highlands. They can be swept or found visiting flowers in open rides where they fly low down over the bare edges of tracks and clearings.

Distribution

A species of the Caledonian pine forests that is largely confined to the Cairngorms, with just a single post-1990 report from Loch Tulloch.

Status

VULNERABLE - Ball & Morris, 2010. Rare (RDB3) - Falk, 1991.