Merodon equestris: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the merodon equestris lives – recorded in 14 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Merodon equestris
Group	Grasshoppers, bugs & other insects
Found in	14 countries
Continents	Europe, North America, Oceania
Class	Insect
Order	Diptera
Family	Syrphidae

Where does the merodon equestris live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the merodon equestris in 14 countries and territories across Europe, North America and Oceania. In Belgium, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Sweden it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

United Kingdom
Germany
Sweden (introduced)
United States
France (introduced)
Norway
Canada
Ireland
Denmark (introduced)
Netherlands (introduced)
Finland
Austria
Belgium (introduced)
New Zealand

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the merodon equestris?

The merodon equestris (Merodon equestris) is an insect in the order Diptera and the family Syrphidae, genus Merodon. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the merodon equestris

Merodon equestris (Narcissus bulb fly, greater bulb fly, large bulb fly, large Narcissus fly) is a Holarctic species of hoverfly (Family Syrphidae).

Like many other hoverflies it displays a colouration pattern similar to a stinging insect (a bumblebee in this case) as an evolutionary defense mechanism. Other syrphid bee mimics are Mallota, Arctophila, Criorhina, Pocota and Brachypalpus. Merodon species are distinguished from these by the very strong hind femora, which bear a large triangular projection on the underside near the tip. It flies in low vegetation while the other bumblebee mimics prefer higher vegetation layers.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Merodon equestris (revision 1366124017), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1760952 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).