The Oriental Intruders in the Checklist: First European Records of Two Non-Native Eumerus Species (Diptera: Syrphidae) with Taxonomic Revisions of the European Fauna.
- 1Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.
- 2Plant Pest Diagnostics Centre, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA 95832-1448, USA.
- 3BioSense Institute-Research Institute for Information Technologies in Biosystems, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.
Abstract
The hoverfly genus Eumerus includes both vital native pollinators and potential agricultural pests, yet taxonomic ambiguities and missing distribution data hinder effective conservation and pest management. To resolve questionable taxa and compile an updated European inventory, we examined historical type specimens, reviewed literature, and evaluated species descriptions. We designate a lectotype for Eumerus alpinus Rondani, 1857, establish four new synonymies (Eumerus aurofinis Grković, Vujić, & Radenković, 2015, is a junior synonym of E. rusticus Sack, 1932; E. lasiops Rondani, 1857, is a junior synonym of E. barbarus (Coquebert, 1804); E. alpinus Rondani, 1857, is a junior synonym of E. olivaceus Loew, 1848; E. nebrodesius Rondani, 1868, is a junior synonym of E. amoenus Loew, 1848; exclude four doubtful taxa; and record two non-native Asian species (E. aurifrons (Wiedemann, 1824) and E. figurans Walker, 1859) in Europe for the first time. The updated checklist comprises 81 valid European species. Biogeographical analysis reveals peak species richness in the Mediterranean (65 species), whereas Macaronesia exhibits the highest rate of localised endemism at 75% (9 of 12 recorded species), followed by the Mediterranean (28%) and Pannonian (25%) regions. With over 60% of assessed native European Eumerus species threatened according to the IUCN Red List, this updated taxonomic framework provides an essential baseline for monitoring non-native pest introductions and guiding targeted conservation strategies for vulnerable endemic pollinators.
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BibTeX
@article{grkovic2026oriental,
title = {{The Oriental Intruders in the Checklist: First European Records of Two Non-Native Eumerus Species (Diptera: Syrphidae) with Taxonomic Revisions of the European Fauna.}},
author = {Ana S Grković and Snežana Radenković and Martin Hauser and Tamara Tot and Jelena Ačanski and Marina Janković Milosavljević and Ante Vujić},
journal = {Insects},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/insects17100981},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940892},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Oriental Intruders in the Checklist: First European Records of Two Non-Native Eumerus Species (Diptera: Syrphidae) with Taxonomic Revisions of the European Fauna.
AU - Ana S Grković
AU - Snežana Radenković
AU - Martin Hauser
AU - Tamara Tot
AU - Jelena Ačanski
AU - Marina Janković Milosavljević
AU - Ante Vujić
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
JO - Insects
DO - 10.3390/insects17100981
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940892
AB - The hoverfly genus Eumerus includes both vital native pollinators and potential agricultural pests, yet taxonomic ambiguities and missing distribution data hinder effective conservation and pest management. To resolve questionable taxa and compile an updated European inventory, we examined historical type specimens, reviewed literature, and evaluated species descriptions. We designate a lectotype for Eumerus alpinus Rondani, 1857, establish four new synonymies (Eumerus aurofinis Grković, Vujić, & Radenković, 2015, is a junior synonym of E. rusticus Sack, 1932; E. lasiops Rondani, 1857, is a junior synonym of E. barbarus (Coquebert, 1804); E. alpinus Rondani, 1857, is a junior synonym of E. olivaceus Loew, 1848; E. nebrodesius Rondani, 1868, is a junior synonym of E. amoenus Loew, 1848; exclude four doubtful taxa; and record two non-native Asian species (E. aurifrons (Wiedemann, 1824) and E. figurans Walker, 1859) in Europe for the first time. The updated checklist comprises 81 valid European species. Biogeographical analysis reveals peak species richness in the Mediterranean (65 species), whereas Macaronesia exhibits the highest rate of localised endemism at 75% (9 of 12 recorded species), followed by the Mediterranean (28%) and Pannonian (25%) regions. With over 60% of assessed native European Eumerus species threatened according to the IUCN Red List, this updated taxonomic framework provides an essential baseline for monitoring non-native pest introductions and guiding targeted conservation strategies for vulnerable endemic pollinators.
SN - 2075-4450
ER -