Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 20, 2026

Spheginobaccha

Spheginobaccha is a genus of hoverflies, with 15 known species. The genus is readily separated from other microdons by the incomplete metathoracic bridge, round/oval basoflagellomere, occiput with a dorsolateral crease, and other characters. It is the only genus in the tribe Spheginobacchini.

Last revised
Jul 20, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
339 w
Citations
15
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Spheginobaccha
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Syrphidae
Subfamily: Microdontinae
Tribe: Spheginobacchini
Thompson, 1972
Genus: Spheginobaccha
Meijere, 1908
Type species
Sphegina macropoda
Bigot, 1883
Synonyms
  • Dexiosyrphus Hull, 1944

Spheginobaccha is a genus of hoverflies, with 15 known species.1 The genus is readily separated from other microdons by the incomplete metathoracic bridge, round/oval basoflagellomere, occiput with a dorsolateral crease, and other characters.2 It is the only genus in the tribe Spheginobacchini.3

Biology

Larvae are found in ant nests.

Distribution

They are native to Africa (five species) and Asia (eight species).2

Species

The macropoda group (Asia):4

  • Spheginobaccha aethusa (Walker, 1849)
  • Spheginobaccha chillcotti Thompson, 19744
  • Spheginobaccha demeijerei van Doesburg, 1968
  • Spheginobaccha duplex (Walker, 1857)
  • Spheginobaccha humeralis (Sack, 1926)
  • Spheginobaccha knutsoni Thompson, 19744
  • Spheginobaccha lieftincki Doesburg, 1968
  • Spheginobaccha macropoda (Bigot, 1883)
  • Spheginobaccha melancholia Hull, 1937
  • Spheginobaccha vandoesburgi Thompson, 19744

The rotundiceps group (South Africa):4

  • Spheginobaccha dexioides Hull, 1944
  • Spheginobaccha dubia Thompson, 19744
  • Spheginobaccha pamela Thompson & Hauser, 20155
  • Spheginobaccha rotundiceps (Loew, 1857)
  • Spheginobaccha stuckenbergi Thompson & Hauser, 20155

The perialla group (Malawi):4

The ruginosa group (Madagascar):

  • Spheginobaccha ruginosa Dirickx, 19956
References

References

  1. Reemer, Menno; Ståhls, Gunilla (2013). "Generic revision and species classification of the Microdontinae (Diptera, Syrphidae)". ZooKeys (288): 1–213. doi:10.3897/zookeys.288.4095. PMC 3690914. PMID 23798897.
  2. Cheng, Xin-Yue; Thompson, F. Christian (2008). "A generic conspectus of the Microdontinae (Diptera: Syrphidae) with the description of two new genera from Africa and China" (PDF Adobe Acrobat). Zootaxa. 1879: 21–48. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1879.1.3. ISSN 1175-5334. S2CID 4889764. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
  3. "Spheginobacchini Thompson, 1972". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  4. Thompson, F.C. (1974). "The genus Spheginobaccha de Meijere (Diptera: Syrphidae)". Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 100 (3): 255–287. JSTOR 25078156.
  5. Thompson, F. Christian; Hauser, Martin (2015). "In Honor of Brian Stuckenberg: Two New Spheginobaccha Species of Flower Flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the Afrotropics". African Invertebrates. 56 (3): 769–777. doi:10.5733/afin.056.0318. S2CID 85980434. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  6. Dirickx, H.G. (1995). "Le Genre Spheginobaccha de Meijere à Madagascar (Diptera: Syrphidae)". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 31 (2): 151–156.