Eristalinae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Panorpida
Cladus: Antliophora
Ordo: Diptera
Subordo: Brachycera
Infraordo: Muscomorpha
Sectio: Aschiza
Superfamilia: Syrphoidea

Familia:Syrphidae
Subfamilia: Eristalinae
Tribus: Brachyopini – Calliceratini – Cerioidini – Eristalini – Merodontini – Milesiini – Pelecocerini – Pipizini – Rhingiini – Sericomyiini – Volucellini

Name

Eristalinae Newman, 1834: 379 (as 'Eristalites')
Synonyms

Cheilosiinae (Williston) Wirth & Stone, 1956
Cheilosinae (Williston) Curran, 1928
Chilosiinae (Williston) Malloch, 1922
Chilosinae Williston, 1885
Eristaliinae (Newman) Malloch, 1922
Eristalina (Newman) Rondani, 1856
Eristalinae (Newman) Rondani, 1857
Eristalites Newman, 1834
Eristaliti (Newman) Lioy, 1864
Eristilinae (Newman) Shannon, 1922

References
Primary references

Newman, E. 1834. Attempted division of British insects into natural orders. The Entomological Magazine 2: 379–431. BHL Reference page.

Links

Eristalinae – Taxon details on Biological Library (BioLib).

Vernacular names
français: Éristalinés
日本語: ハナアブ亜科

Eristalinae (or Milesiinae) are one of the four subfamilies of the fly family Syrphidae, or hoverflies. A well-known species included in this subfamily is the dronefly, Eristalis tenax.[1][2][3]

Species in this subfamily are often misclassified as bees instead of flies due to their exceptional Mimicry, especially to resemble Honeybees (family Apidae). The best strategy for proper identification is to look at their eyes and wings and compare with fly morphology, to determine membership of family Syrphidae and/or of order Hymenoptera.

Taxonomy

This subfamily consists of the following tribes:

Brachyopini
Callicerini
Cerioidini
Eristalini
Sericomyiini
Eumerini
Milesiini
Pipizini
Rhingiini
Spheginobacchini
Volucellini
Ecology

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This subfamily has the widest range of larvae habitat of any in Syrphidae. Larvae live in sap trails, under bark, in rot-holes in trees, in decaying organic material such as dung and compost, and in shallow aquatic environments. Most larvae feed on decaying organic debris. They are filter feeders in many kinds of aquatic media. They purify water by filtering microorganisms and other products. Some feed on bulbs and are considered garden pests.[4]

Certain species in Eristalinae live as scavengers and take shelter in the remains of other insects, while others, like Volucella,[5] are Parasitoids and live in wasp or bee nests. Some other species are found to be leaf miners and tunnel inside the stems and roots of plants. Additionally, males of this subfamily typically employ dual mate-seeking strategies to find females, most commonly patrolling blossoms and waiting near potential sites where females could lay eggs.[5]
References

Bartsch, Hans (2009). Tvåvingar: Blomflugor Diptera: Syrphidae: Eristalinae & Microdontinae [Flies: hoverfly Diptera: Syrphidae: Eristalinae & Microdontinae] (hardback). Nationalnyckeln/en/ (in Swedish). Vol. 2. The Swedish Taxonomy Initiative. pp. 1–478. ISBN 9789188506702.
Stubbs, Alan E.; Falk, Steven J. (2002). British Hoverflies: An Illustrated Identification Guide (2nd of Revised ed.). British Entomological and Natural History Society. p. 469. ISBN 978-1899935055.
Skevington, Jeffrey H (2019). Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America. ISBN 9780691189406.
Rotheray, G.E. (1993). "Colour Guide to Hoverfly Larvae (Diptera, Syrphidae) in Britain and Europe" (PDF). Diperists Digest. 9: 155.

Heiss, Elizabeth Madeleine (1938). "A classification of the larvae and puparia of the Syrphidae of Illinois exclusive of aquatic forms". Series: Illinois biological monographs. 16: 1–142.

3. [1] Bugguide.net

4. [2] Maier, C.T. (1982). Larval habitats and mate-seeking sites of flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae, Eristalinae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 84, 603–609.

5. Maier, C.T. (1979). Dual Mate-Seeking Strategies in Male Syrphid Flies. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Volume 72, Issue 1, Pages 54–61.