Mesembrina meridiana

Distribution

This common species is widespread in most of Europe, in the Near East, in the eastern Palearctic realm (Russia, Mongolia, China), and in North Africa.

Description

Mesembrina meridiana can reach a length of 9 -.

This species can be easily confused with Mesembrina resplendens and Mesembrina intermedia.

Biology

This species is ovoviviparous, as the eggs hatch prior or within an hour after deposition. The female lays up to five eggs in a lifetime, each one in a different pat, at two-day intervals. Eggs are laid in cow dung.

Adults can be found between late April and late October, particularly in cattle-rearing areas, on cow dung or basking in open ground. They mate in cow or horse dung. They feed on nectar and pollen of flowers of plants, especially Apiaceae (Heracleum and Pastinaca species),

Gallery

Mesembrina.meridiana.couple.jpg|Mating Noon Fly (Mesembrina meridiana) female (14357856892).jpg|♀ Female Mesembrina.meridiana.wing.detail.jpg|Detail of a wing

Bibliography

• Colyer, C.N., & Hammond, C.O. (1968). Flies of the British Isles, ed. 2, Frederick Warne & Co., London
• Michael Chinery, Insectes de France et d'Europe occidentale, Paris, Flammarion, août 2012, 320 p. (), p. 214-215

References

References

1. [https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id122023/ BioLib]
2. [http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2011/details/species/id/8730611 Catalogue of life]
3. [https://fauna-eu.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/55e6e262-aae4-46a4-84a9-59872c64ea95 Fauna europaea]
4. These medium large flies have a stout body. Thorax and abdomen are shiny black, covered with uniform black hair. Numerous bristles are present on the edge of the scutellum. Occiput has no yellow hairiness. Eyes are bare and the cheeks under the eyes are covered with fine yellow short hairs. Orbits are separated by a wide black space. Antennae and palps are black, but [[Arista (insect anatomy)
5. Peter Skidmore [https://books.google.com/books?id=CDGduw3heY8C&q=meridiana&pg=PA184 The Biology of the Muscidae of the World]
6. or on overripe berries. The [[larva]]e are [[Carnivore|carnivorous]], and feed on other fly larvae within the dung.Skidmore, P.: Insects of the British Cow Dung Community