Hoverflies (Diptera, Syrphidae) in a rural garden and their potential for citizen science

By

Van Der Velden, Joan A.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024-8-26

Original Publication

Beiträge zur Entomologie

Volume

74

Series / Issue

Issue: 2

Pages

193--198

Subjects

backyard , Biodiversity , biometrical identification , decline of insects , photographic capture , suburban garden , syrphids

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Berlin Akademie-Verlag 1951-1997

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/contrib.entomol.74.e123244

 

Abstract

In a rural garden in the southwest of the Netherlands, 48 species of hoverfly were observed, belonging to 28 genera. All but one species are common in the Netherlands. Gardens are a natural habitat for many hoverflies. Both species diversity and the abundance of hoverflies can be high, making hoverflies good indicators for an ecological garden health index for insects. The potential contribution of citizen science to gain more ecological knowledge of hoverflies in gardens is discussed. This study shows that photographic capture and biometrical identification are suitable for citizen science projects on hoverflies.