Diversity
Taxomerus
, commonly known as calligrapher flies, are a large genus of hover flies in the family
Syrphidae
. The most common species of this genus are
eastern calligraphers
,
primrose calligraphers
, and
western calligraphers
. This genus is one of the most common flower flies in the New World. Only 101 species
of this genus are published and validly named.
Geographic Range
Members of the genus of calligrapher flies are only found in the New World. Four species
are native to Canada, 13 in the United States, and approximately 130 in the Neotropical
region of the New World.
The genus of calligrapher flies is only found in the New World. Four species live
in Canada, 13 in the United States, and about 130 in Latin America and South America.
- Biogeographic Regions
- nearctic
- neotropical
Habitat
Calligrapher flies are found in a variety of habitats, including those in tropical
and temperate regions.
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- forest
- mountains
- Other Habitat Features
- urban
- suburban
- agricultural
Physical Description
Calligrapher flies are small in size, between 5-9.5 mm in length. They have bright
yellow markings on the thorax. Their abdomens have complex patterns of yellow and
black. They have white faces with a thin stripe between their eyes. Their eyes are
large and elongated. Their wings are clear. Males have yellow antennae, while the
first segments of females' antennae are brown. They can be identified by their unique
triangular notch on the posterior eye margin.
- Other Physical Features
- ectothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes colored or patterned differently
Development
Female calligrapher flies lay up to 100 eggs singly on plants. Larvae in their last
instar will overwinter. They pupate in soil in the spring. During the summer, adults
emerge.
The colors of adult calligrapher flies may change depending on the temperature they
experience during pupation. Calligrapher flies that experience hot temperatures during
pupation may be lighter in color with more yellow or orange. If they pupate in cool
temperatures, they will be darker in color.
- Development - Life Cycle
- metamorphosis
- diapause
Reproduction
Female calligrapher flies lay eggs. They utilize sexual reproduction and internal
fertilization.
- Key Reproductive Features
- sexual
- fertilization
- oviparous
Calligrapher flies do not utilize parental involvement.
- Parental Investment
- no parental involvement
Lifespan/Longevity
Behavior
Calligrapher flies are active during the day. They are able to fly and tend to stay
in one general area. They are a solitary species.
Communication and Perception
Calligrapher flies use visual, tactile, acoustic, and chemical methods of communication.
They also use pheromones, scent marks, and vibrations. They use visual perception
in infrared and ultraviolet ranges. They use tactile, acoustic, vibrations, and chemical
methods of perception.
- Other Communication Modes
- pheromones
- vibrations
- Perception Channels
- visual
- infrared/heat
- ultraviolet
- tactile
- acoustic
- vibrations
- chemical
Food Habits
Larvae are reported to consume
aphids
, pollen, and plant matter. However, the reports about them consuming aphids have
not been reliably verified. The larvae of
maize calligrapher
feed on pollen and leaf matter of
corn
plants. Other species may feed on
pea aphids
and
pea
leaves. Feeding on
true bugs
,
mites and ticks
,
thrips
, and larvae of
butterflies and moths
has been observed.
Ecosystem Roles
Calligrapher flies have notable interactions with
bumble bees
while foraging on flowers. While the appearance of
bumble bees
on a flower may cause other flies to stay away, calligrapher flies will quickly return.
They pollinate the flowers they land on while foraging for food.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
While consuming pollen, calligrapher flies may pollinate the flowers on which they
land.
While eating pollen, calligrapher flies may pollinate flowers.
- Positive Impacts
- pollinates crops
Additional Links
Contributors
Deena Hauze (author), Animal Diversity Web Staff.
- Nearctic
-
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- mountains
-
This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.
- marsh
-
marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.
- swamp
-
a wetland area that may be permanently or intermittently covered in water, often dominated by woody vegetation.
- urban
-
living in cities and large towns, landscapes dominated by human structures and activity.
- suburban
-
living in residential areas on the outskirts of large cities or towns.
- agricultural
-
living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.
- metamorphosis
-
A large change in the shape or structure of an animal that happens as the animal grows. In insects, "incomplete metamorphosis" is when young animals are similar to adults and change gradually into the adult form, and "complete metamorphosis" is when there is a profound change between larval and adult forms. Butterflies have complete metamorphosis, grasshoppers have incomplete metamorphosis.
- diapause
-
a period of time when growth or development is suspended in insects and other invertebrates, it can usually only be ended the appropriate environmental stimulus.
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- internal fertilization
-
fertilization takes place within the female's body
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- solitary
-
lives alone
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- pheromones
-
chemicals released into air or water that are detected by and responded to by other animals of the same species
- vibrations
-
movements of a hard surface that are produced by animals as signals to others
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- infrared/heat
-
(as keyword in perception channel section) This animal has a special ability to detect heat from other organisms in its environment.
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- vibrations
-
movements of a hard surface that are produced by animals as signals to others
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- folivore
-
an animal that mainly eats leaves.
- ectothermic
-
animals which must use heat acquired from the environment and behavioral adaptations to regulate body temperature
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
References
Coin, P., J. Balaban, J. Balaban, B. Moisset, R. McLeod, C. Entz, A. Santos. 2020. "Genus Toxomerus" (On-line). Featured Creatures Entomology & Nematology. Accessed September 18, 2020 at https://bugguide.net/node/view/3277 .
Mengual, X. 2011. Black-tie dress code: two new species of the genus Toxomerus (Diptera, Syrphidae). ZooKeys , 140: 1-26. Accessed September 24, 2020 at https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.140.1930 .
Milne, M., L. Milne. 1980. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders . New York: Knopf.
Miranda, G., A. Young, M. Locke, S. Marshall, J. Skevington, F. Thompson. 2013. Key to the Genera of Nearctic Syrphidae. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification , 23: 1-351.
Morse, D. 1981. Interactions Among Syrphid Flies and Bumblebees on Flowers. Ecology , 62(1): 81-88. Accessed September 18, 2020 at https://www.jstor.org/stable/1936671 .
Stone, A., C. Sabrosky, W. Wirth, R. Foote, J. Coulson. 1965. A CATALOG OF THE DĂŤPTERA OF AMERICA NORTH OF MEXICO . Washington D.C.: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
Vockeroth, J. 1992. The flower flies of the subfamily Syrphinae of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland, Diptera: Syrphidae PT. 18 . Ottawa: Agriculture Canada. Accessed September 18, 2020 at http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.811395/publication.html .