Parasyrphus nigritarsis
Parasyrphus nigritarsis is a species of hoverfly, from the family Syrphidae, in the order Diptera. It is known from northern Europe and North America, and has been considered to be a rare species in parts of its range. Adults visit flowers as a source of nutrition, and females lay their eggs on clutches of eggs of leaf beetles (family Chrysomelidae). When the Parasyrphus larvae hatch, they first consume leaf beetle eggs and then consume immature beetles until they reach the pupal stage. This species is related to hoverflies that prey on aphids as larvae, and has been investigated in studies of chemical ecology and food web ecology. Distribution and habitat In Eurasia, P. nigritarsus occurs in the Nordic countries, south to Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and northern Spain, Ireland east through Central Europe into Russia and on to the Russian Far East and Japan. In North America, it occurs from Alaska to Quebec and south to Washington and Idaho. Thus, P. nigritarsus is considered to be present throughout the Northern Hemisphere and it is one of several syrphid species included in the 'Barcode of Life Data System, a project focusing on species occurring in Canada that includes taxonomic information, metadata, and