Merodon moenium (Wiedemann, 1822)

Heimburg, Helge, Doczkal, Dieter & Holzinger, Werner E., 2022, A checklist of the hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Austria, Zootaxa 5115 (2), pp. 151-209 : 157

Merodon moenium (Wiedemann, 1822)

Examined material. Vienna: Stammersdorf, Alte Schanze XII 212 m, 48°18’59’’ N, 16°25’08’’ E, 24.7.2019 (1♂), leg. H. Heimburg, det. A. Vujić.

Notes. The species was found in a small area in the immediate vicinity of a wine-growing region. The warmthfavoured site was characterized by small bushes and dry, unimproved grassland. M. moenium is one of the three cryptic species within the Merodon avidus complex, which can be found in Europe ( Popović et al. 2015). Only M. avidus und M. moenium occur in Austria, respectively in Central Europe. The third species, M. ibericus , is only recorded from Spain, Portugal and Morocco ( Speight 2020). Due to the similarity of external morphological characteristics, it must be assumed that most of the older records of M. avidus in the published literature probably refer to M. moenium . Therefore, previous records need to be re-examined.