24 New Species of Flower Fly Have Been Found in Central and Southern America

Jan. 31, 2013 — A team of scientists have described twenty four new species of dipterans belonging to Quichuana genus, of which only a further 24 species were known. The researchers, including two Spanish biologists, have been studying the forests of Central and Southern America for ten years and they have now published their results in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

A ten-year study in forests of the American continent has resulted in the description of 24 new insect species from the Quichuana genus that are also known as 'flower flies'.

Up until now only a further 24 species were known and this genus belongs to the Syrphidae family, which is a group with similar characteristics to that of bees and wasps but with a different taxonomic order.

As explained by María Ángeles Marcos-García, researcher at the Ibero-American Biodiversity Centre (CIBIO) of the University of Alicante and one of the authors of the study, the species of the Quichuana genus are "not well known as they live in tropical forest areas where insect studies are scarce."

Numerous studies in these forests have been carried out in the last ten years that aim to "understand and provide useful data for supporting conservation measures in those areas that are home to such high levels of biodiversity," explains the biologist.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130131084419.htm