Axona chalcopyga (Wiedemann 1830)

Mamat, Muhammad Izzelen Izzauddin, Bot, Sander, Syafiq, Muhammad Fatihah, Omar, Chik Maslinda, Abdullah, Daria Mathew, Nor Zalipah, Mohamed & Azmi, Wahizatul Afzan, 2024, The metallic blue fly, Axona chalcopyga (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Syrphidae) in Gelam Forests, new to Malaysia, Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 10 (4), pp. 725-735 : 728-730

publication ID

https://doi.org/10.61186/jibs.10.4.725

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D1838992-6733-439B-AF5E-09C4FBD942D9

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03BB87F8-D732-FFE7-FF9D-F856FA69062E

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Axona chalcopyga (Wiedemann 1830)
status

 

Axona chalcopyga (Wiedemann 1830) View in CoL ( Figs 3–5)

Eristalis chalcopyga Wiedemann, 1830 ; Eristalis maxima Doleschall, 1857 ; Axona volucelloides Walker, 1864 ; Eristalis volucelloides Walker, 1864 ; Eristalis kershawi Ferguson, 1926 .

Material examined. MALAYSIA – 1♀, Terengganu, Gelam forests, Terengganu districts, Peninsular Malaysia ; 25-VI-2022, 4°52'44.9"N, 103°22'22.6"E GoogleMaps ; 1♀, 25-V-2023, 4°52'45.7"N 103°22'29.7"E; 1♀, 24-VIII-2023, 5°12'34.5"N, 103°11'47.3"E; leg.: M.I.I. Mamat, M.A.H. Ahmad Wizam. Sweep net, UMT.

Morphology. Body length: 20–23 mm ( Figs 3, 5), Wing ( Fig. 3D) length: 18 mm. Habitus: Large, strongly metallic fly, vivid blue reflections, blue head to abdomen and half-dark brown wings ( Fig. 3A–C). Axona chalcopyga is a distinctive fly that is easily recognized by its impressive size and metallic blue whole body. Their large size typically measures 20–22 mm in body length. Adorning their unique yellow markings concentrated at the tips of the abdomen, which further enhances their visual appeal. Head: Eye black, frons blue with very short pile, parafacial with short silver pile, facial tubercle well developed, face at level of antennae narrower than an eye. Postpedicel predominantly black-grey, shorter than high, arista longer than the antenna, ocellar triangle black, slightly elevated and bare, occiput shiny blue with white hairs. Compound eyes separated ( Fig. 4A–C). Thorax: Dark blue metallic, scutum shiny blue and seemingly bare, scutellum with very short pile. Proepimeron shiny blue. Legs metallic blue, pulvillus yellow ( Fig. 4D–E). Wing: Strongly dark brown and black infuscated except posterior margin which is hyaline ( Fig. 3D). Abdomen: Oval-shaped with 5 visible segments, entirely shiny; terga 1 − 3 vivid blue except posterior margin of tergum 3 orange, terga 4 − 5 orange with short sparse dark brown pile at the tip of abdomen; in dorsal view, wider than scutum at the maximum scutum width ( Fig. 4F).

Ecology. Specimens have been collected within fragmented and intact Gelam forests, the biome highly dominated by Gelam trees ( Melaleuca cajuputi ).

Distribution. Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia ( New record), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Singapore.

Remarks. Previous records from Singapore indicate A. chalcopyga visiting the big sage ( Lantana camara ) flower. Our observation in Malaysia documented its association with the Gelam ( Melaleuca cajuputi ) flower.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Diptera

Family

Syrphidae

Genus

Axona

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