Flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) in Pampean agroecosystems: a study case

TORRETTA, JUAN P.; LÓPEZ, MARÍA C.; MARRERO, HUGO J.

Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina

Sociedad Entomológica Argentina

Año: 2021 vol. 80 p. 23 - 34

Agroecosystemsproduce profound alterations on the structure and functioning of theoriginal environment, mainly due to the reduction of biodiversity. Flowerflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) are potentially useful organisms for the diverseecosystem services they provide. We studied syrphids collected in a Pampean agroecosystem toassess richness, abundance,host plants, and the ecosystem services they could offer.Flower flies were represented by three subfamilies, eight tribes, 17 genera, and 26species/morphospecies. Adults of these flies visited flowers of 44 species of wild and/or cultivatedplants and exhibited a generalist interaction pattern. Larvae of the most abundant specieswere predators (mainly soft-bodied Hemiptera) and/or decomposers/aquatic filters. Only onespecies was pollinivorous. Our results, together with the scarce published bibliography,suggest that the syrphid communities of the highly modified Pampean region arecomposed of a few very abundant species and many rare or low representative species.