Cheilosia ( Cheilosia ) aerea Dufour, 1848

Bot, Sander, Mengual, Ximo, Meutter, Frank Van de & Skevington, Jeffrey H., 2025, Review of the genus Cheilosia Meigen, 1822 (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the Caucasus, with the description of 14 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 1023, pp. 1-181 : 8-10

Cheilosia ( Cheilosia) aerea Dufour, 1848

Fig. 3

Cheilosia aerea Dufour, 1848: 209 .

Chilosia correcta Becker, 1894: 488 . Syn. by Claussen & Thompson (1996).

Chilosia zetterstedti Becker, 1894: 430 . Syn. by Claussen & Thompson (1996).

Chilosia zetterstedti – Stackelberg & Richter 1968: 250. — Stackelberg 1970: 62. — Peck 1988: 121.

Chilosia correcta – Barkalov 1993: 724.

Cheilosia zetterstendti Becker, 1921 [sic] – Gujabidze 2002: 246.

Cheilosia aerea – Barkalov & Mutin 2018: 482. — Mengual et al. 2020: 14. — Speight 2020a: 26.

Differential diagnosis

Very similar to the species of the proxima group, and therefore often overlooked. It shares the following characters with the proxima group: eye pilose, face bare, legs bicoloured, posterior margin of scutellum with setae and sterna pilose. However, in C. aerea the posterodorsal corner of the anterior anepisternum is pilose, bare in all species of the proxima group, and the sterna are less pruinose in some specimens and populations. Morphologically and genetically, it is close to C. vansteenisi sp. nov., but that species has the posterodorsal corner of the anterior anepisternum bare. Moreover, C. aerea has the scutum more coarsely punctured, terga more pruinose and terga with on average more black pile. For more differences with C. vansteenisi , see the Differential diagnosis of that species.

Material examined

Not collected in 2018, but collected in 2019 and 2022.

ARMENIA – Ararat Province • 5 ♂♂; surroundings of Geghard Monastery ; 40.13859° N, 44.81728° E; 1720 m a.s.l.; 22 May 2022; X. Mengual leg.; ZFMK, ZFMK-DIP-00093544 = ZFMK-TIS-8014619 , ZFMK-DIP-00093545 , ZFMK-DIP-00093550 , ZFMK-DIP-00093551 = ZFMK-TIS-8014627 , ZFMKDIP-00094506 • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; ZFMK, ZFMK-DIP-00093556. – Syunik Province • 1 ♀; from Lichk to the Zvaravank Monastery ; 39.05497° N, 46.171353° E; 1765 m a.s.l.; 16 May 2022; X. Mengual leg.; ZFMK, ZFMK-DIP-00093041 = ZFMK-TIS-8014612 • 6 ♂♂; near Gorayk, Spandarian Reservoir ; 39.684513° N, 45.777478° E; 2078 m a.s.l.; 19 May 2022; X. Mengual leg.; ZFMK, ZFMK-DIP-00093263 = ZFMK-TIS-8014620 , ZFMK-DIP-00093265 , ZFMK-DIP-00093269 = ZFMK-TIS-8014625 , ZFMK-DIP-00093270 , ZFMK-DIP-00093271 , ZFMK-DIP-00093273 • 3 ♀♀; same data as for preceding; ZFMK, ZFMK-DIP-00093277 , ZFMK-DIP-00093278 , ZFMKDIP-00093280 .

GEORGIA – Samtskhe-Javakheti • 2 ♀♀; Abastumani ; 41.7772° N, 42.8372° E; 1368 m a.s.l.; 10– 11 Jun. 2019; X. Mengual leg.; Malaise trap; ZFMK, ZFMK-DIP-00069437 = ZFMK-TIS-8009527 , ZFMK-DIP-00013504 = ZFMK-TIS-8010111 .

Genetics

All DNA barcodes of C. aerea are clustered together with high support (BS = 100%).

Biology

During our expeditions, collected between 16 May and 11 June at an altitude between 1368 and 2078 m a.s.l.

Distribution

Western Palaearctic, eastwards into Central Asia. Within the Caucasus reported from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia.