European Journal of Entomology

Adults of Syritta flaviventris and S. pipens were reared from larvae collected on decaying platyclades of Opuntia maxima Miller (Cactaceae) from the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The larva and puparium of S. flaviventris, as well as preliminary data about its life cycle are described. The feeding behaviour of the larva in relation to the cephalopharyngeal skeleton morphology is analysed. Based on the present data, a comparative table containing the main morphological characteristics of the immature stages of European species of the genus Syritta is presented.

Address
Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Alicante, E-03080 Alicante, Spain; e-mail: celeste@carn.ua.es

Keywords
Syrphidae, Syritta flaviventris, Syritta pipiens, immature stages, morphology, feeding behaviour, Opuntia maxima, Spain