MALLOTA FUCIFORMIS (FABRICIUS, 1794) (DIPTERA: SYRPHIDAE), 
A NEW HOVERFLY SPECIES IN SLOVENIA
Maarten d e Gr o o t
1
& d ejan Ja n e v ić
2
1
d epartment of Forest Protection, Slovenian Forestry institute, 
v ečna pot 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, maarten.degroot@gozdis.si
2
Levec 22, 3301 Petrovče, Slovenia
Abstract – t he hoverfly species Mallota fuciformis (Fabricius, 1794) was recorded
in Slovenia for the first time. it was found in Ponikva pri Žalcu, Grče on the 13th of
a pril 2020. o ne specimen was found on a flowering cherry laurel (Prunus lauro-
cerasus) in the vicinity of a forest stand with deciduous and coniferous trees. t his is
the first record of the genus Mallota in Slovenia.
Ke y w o r d S: d iptera, Syrphidae, fauna, Slovenia, first record
Izvleček – MALLOTA FUCIFORMIS (Fa Br iCiUS, 1794) (d iPt e r a : Sy r PHi-
d a e ), n o v a v r St a MUHe t r e Pe t a v Ke v SLo v e n iJi
n ova vrsta muhe trepetavke je bila zabeležena v Sloveniji: Mallota fuciformis
(Fabricius, 1794). v rsta je bila najdena na Ponikvi pri Žalcu, Grče, dne 13. 4. 2020,
na cvetočem lovorikovcu (Prunus laurocerasus) v bližini mešanega gozda. Gre za
prvo najdbo muhe trepetavke iz rodu Mallota v Sloveniji. 
KLJUč n e Be Se d e : dvokrilci, muhe trepetavke, živalstvo, Slovenija, prva najdba
in the last few years several new species of hoverflies (d iptera, Syrphidae) have
been recorded for Slovenia (Janević and de Groot, 2018; Šebić, et al., 2019). t his
group of flies has become more and more popular as they are very conspicuous –
they look like bees or wasps, and are important pollinators. t hey fulfill also other
functions in the ecosystems, for example by feeding on aphids and plants, and they
are also indicators for the status of dead wood in forests (Speight, 1989; r eemer,
2005; r otheray and Gilbert, 2011).  
Slovenia is a diverse country in many ways. t his is mainly due to its unique loca-
tion, namely at the meeting point of the a lpine-, Submediteranean-, Subpanonian-
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ACTA ENTOMOLOGICA SLOVENICA
LJUBLJANA, JUNIJ 2020                    Vol. 28, øt. 1: 71–74

and d inaric regions (Ciglič and Perko, 2012). From the ecological point of view,
Slovenia boasts numerous highly diverse habitats. in total, 315 hoverfly species have
been recorded for Slovenia (d e Groot and Govedič, 2008; d e Groot, et al., 2010;
v an Steenis, et al., 2013; Janević and de Groot, 2018; Šebić, et al., 2019). o ne of the
genera that have not yet been found in Slovenia is Mallota (Meigen 1822). t here are
five species of Mallota hoverflies in e urope. M. cimbiciformis and M. fuciformis can
be found throughout e urope, M. megilliformis is found in the Central- to n orthern
e urope, M. tricolor in the Central e urope and M. dusmeti only on the iberian Peninsula.
o ther Mallota species can be found in other parts of the world (r eemer, et al., 2009).
a dult Mallota hoverflies have a very short flying period and often fly high in the
canopy. t heir larvae are rat tailed maggots and live in moisty rot holes in trees
(r eemer, et al., 2009). in this paper, we present a new species for Slovenia: Mallota
fuciformis, which is also the first record of the genus in Slovenia.
t he field work took place in Ponikva pri Žalcu, Grče in Central Slovenia. t he
specimen was only photographed. t he species was identified with Bot and van de
Meutter (2019).
Acta entomologica slovenica, 28 (1), 2020
72
Fig. 1: a dult male of Mallota fuciformis found in Ponikva pri Žalcu, Slovenia

Mallota fuciformis (Fabricius, 1794)
Material examined (Fig 1). Slovenia, Ponikva pri Žalcu, Grče (GKX: 510346,
GKy : 127739, Fig 2), 13.04.2020, altitude: 450 m asl., 1♂, photo d . Janević.
t he specimen was found resting on a leaf of the cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
(Figure 1) that was in full bloom. M. fuciformis is often found on flowering trees and
bushes in other parts of e urope (r eemer, et al., 2009; Bot and van de Meutter, 2019;
Speight, 2020). t he specimen was found in a forested area with deciduous and conif-
erous trees. in other parts of e urope it is found mainly in deciduous forests and parks
with old trees (r eemer, et al., 2009; Bot and van de Meutter, 2019). t he larvae are
found in rot holes of old trees (Bot and van de Meutter, 2019). Forests in Slovenia are
relatively old, and many rot holes can be found which are potential breeding sites for
this species.
t his is the first species of the genus Mallota in Slovenia. a ccording to Fauna e u-
ropaea, M. cimbiciformis was found in a ustria, italy and Hungary. So, it would not
be surprising to find this species in the coming years in Slovenia.
Acknowledgments
w e would like to thank John Smit for the second opinion of the identification of
this species and an anonymous reviewer and dr. a ndreja Kavčič for comments on a
previous version of the manuscript.
Maarten de Groot, Dejan Janeviå: Mallota fuciformis (Fabricius, 1794) (Diptera: Syrphidae), a new hoverfly species in Slovenia
73
Fig. 2: d istribution of Mallota fuciformis in Slovenia (de Groot M. 2020. Karta
razširjenosti za Mallota fuciformis. Podatkovna zbirka gliv Slovenije Boletus infor-
maticus., o gris n . (ur.) (16.04.2020))

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