Microdon mutabilis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Heimburg, Helge, Doczkal, Dieter & Holzinger, Werner E., 2022, A checklist of the hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Austria, Zootaxa 5115 (2), pp. 151-209 : 172

Microdon mutabilis (Linnaeus, 1758) / M. myrmicae Schönrogge et al. 2002

Microdon myrmicae has been split from M. mutabilis based on characters of the larvae and puparia by Schönrogge et al. (2002). The adults are morphologically indistinguishable. While M. myrmicae is associated with various ant hosts of the genus Myrmica Latreille, 1804, occurring in open wet habitat, larvae or puparia of M. mutabilis have been found in nests of Formica lemani, F. cunicularia, and F. cinerea . These ants prefer dry grassland. Therefore, M. mutabilis is found more frequently in dry habitats. The records from Austria examined by us were exclusively based on adults. While it can be assumed that both species were involved, further investigations based on puparia and/or DNA data are needed to corroborate their presence in Austria.