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Bodenheimer (Animal Life in Palestine, 1935) has this to say:
The beautiful Syrphids are common visitors on umbels or on other flowers like the Bombyliids which are described above. They always turn their body in exactly the opposite direction of that of the wind (negative anemotropism). The club-shaped larvae of the Syrphinae (Paragus striagus, Lasiophthicus pyrastri, Syrphus corollae, Sphaerophoria scripta, Xanthogramma aegyptium, and others) live predaciously on aphids, which they pick up with their mouth-parts and then suck empty. The maggots of Eristalis and Merodon, which develop in liquid filth and decaying vegetable matter, posses long "tails" which they extend as respiratory siphons to the surface of the water. The maggots of Syritta and Eumerus develop in parts of plants and occasionally become injurious.
In Palestine, E. vestitus and E. amoenus have been bred from watermelons, potatos, onions and bulbs of tulips, but they probably attack only such fruits which are already damaged.
From Wikipedia:
Flies in the Diptera family Syrphidae are commonly known as hoverflies, flower flies, or Syrphid flies.
As their common names suggest, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae (maggots) eat a wide range of foods. In some species, the larvae are saprotrophs, eating decaying plant and animal matter in the soil or in ponds and streams. In other species, the larvae are insectivores and prey on aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects. Aphids alone cause tens of millions of dollars of damage to crops worldwide every year, and so aphid-feeding hover-flies are being recognized as important natural enemies of pests, and potential agents for use in biological control. Adult syrphid flies are important pollinators.
About 6,000 species in 200 genera have been described.
| Species | Reference source | Collection | |
| Brachypalpus valgus (Panzer, 1798) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Cerioides vespiformes (Latreille, 1804) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
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| Chamaesyrphus pruinosomaculatus Strobl, 1906 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Cheilosia chrysocoma Meigen, 1822 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Cheilosia latifacies Loew, 1857 | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
||
| Cheilosia schineri Egger, 1860 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Cheilosia scutellata (Fallen, 1817) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Cheilosia soror (Zetterstedt, 1843) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Chrysogaster insignis Loew, 1843 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Chrysogaster macquarti Loew, 1843 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Chrysogaster viduata (Linnaeus, 1858) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Chrysotoxum intermedium (Meigen, 1822) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
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| Chrysotoxum italicum Rondani, 1845 | Bodenheimer, 1937 | Bet Dagan | |
| Chrysotoxum parmense Rondani, 1845 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Dasysyrphus eggeri (Schiner, 1862) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Episyrphus balteatus (De Geer, 1776) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Avidov and Harpaz, 1961 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Eristalinus aeneus (Scopoli, 1763) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Eristalinus sepulchralis (Linnaeus, 1758) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eristalis arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Eristalis pratorum Meigen, 1822 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eristalis quinquelineatus Fabricius, 1781 | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
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| Eristalis taeniops Wiedemann, 1818 | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Eristalis tenax (Linnaeus, 1758) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Eumerus amoenus Loew, 1848 | Bodenheimer, 1937 Avidov and Harpaz, 1961 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Eumerus bactrianus Stack, 1952 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus basalis Loew, 1848) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus cistanchei Efflatoun, 1927 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus falsus Becker, 1921 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus kazanovskiae Paramonov, 1927 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus mucidus Bezzi, 1921 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus obliquus (Fabricius, 1805) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus palaestinensis Stack, 1949 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus pulchellus Loew, 1848 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus punctifrons Loew, 1857 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus pusillus Loew, 1848 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus richteri Stack, 1960 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus sogdianus Stack, 1952 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Eumerus strigatus (Fallén, 1817) | Bet Dagan | ||
| Eumerus vestitus Bezzi, 1912 | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
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| Eupeodes corollae (Fabricius, 1794) | Bodenheimer, 1937 | Bet Dagan | |
| Eupeodes latifasciatus (Macquart, 1829) | Bodenheimer, 1937 | Bet Dagan | |
| Heringia heringi (Zetterstedt, 1843) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Heringia senilis Sack, 1938 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Ischiodon aegyptius (Wiedemann, 1830) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Avidov and Harpaz, 1961 Kaplan, 1974 |
||
| Liogaster splendida (Meigen, 1822) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Melanostoma fimbriatum (Loew, 1871) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Melanostoma mellinum (Linnaeus, 1758) | Kaplan, 1974 | Bet Dagan | |
| Melanostoma scalare (Fabricius, 1794) | Bodenheimer, 1937 | Bet Dagan | |
| Meliscaeva auricollis (Meigen, 1822) | Kaplan, 1974 | Bet Dagan | |
| Merodon annulatus (Fabricius, 1794) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Merodon armipes Rondani, 1843 | Bodenheimer, 1937 | Bet Dagan | |
| Merodon caudatus Sack, 1913 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Merodon erivanicus Paramonov, 1925 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Merodon eques (Fabricius, 1794) | |||
| Merodon femoratus Sack, 1913 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Merodon flaviventris (Sack, 1932) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Merodon funestus (Fabricius, 1794) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Merodon geniculatus Strobl, 1909 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Merodon hirtus (Sack, 1932) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Merodon longicornis Sack, 1913 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Merodon pruni (Rossi, 1790) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Merodon spinipes (Fabricius, 1794) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Merodon tricinctus (Sack, 1913) | Bodenheimer, 1937 | Bet Dagan | |
| Metasyrphus corollae (Fabricius, 1794) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Metasyrphus interrumpens (Walker, 1891) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Milesia semiluctifera (Villers, 1789) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Myiatropa florea (Linnaeus, 1758) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Neoascia podagrica (Fabricius, 1775) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Orthoneura frontalis Loew, 1843 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Orthoneura longicornis Loew, 1843 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Paragus aegyptius Macquart, 1850 | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
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| Paragus bicolor (Fabricius, 1794) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Paragus pulcherrimus Strobl, 1893 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Paragus strigatus Meigen, 1822 | Bodenheimer, 1937 | Bet Dagan | |
| Paragus tibialis (Fallén, 1817) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Avidov and Harpaz, 1961 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Parhelophilus versicolor (Fabricius, 1794) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Pelecocera latifrons Loew, 1856 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Platychirus fulviventris (Macquart, 1828) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Platynochaetus armipes Bezzi, 1924 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Pseudodoros nigricollis Becker, 1903 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Scaeva albomaculata Macquart, 1842 | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Scaeva pyrastri (Linnaeus, 1758) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Avidov and Harpaz, 1961 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Scaeva selenitica (Meigen, 1822) | Kaplan, 1974 | Bet Dagan | |
| Spathiogaster ambiens (Fabricius, 1798) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Sphaerophoria rueppelli (Wiedemann, 1830) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Sphaerophoria scripta (Linnaeus, 1758) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Syrphus ribesii (Linnaeus, 1758) | Bodenheimer, 1937 | Bet Dagan | |
| Syritta fasciata Wiedemann, 1830 | Bodenheimer, 1937 | Bet Dagan | |
| Syritta flaviventris Macquart, 1841 | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Syritta pipiens (Linnaeus, 1758) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Syritta stigmatica Loew,1857 | Bodenheimer, 1937 | Bet Dagan | |
| Syritta subtilis Becker, 1903 | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan | |
| Volucella zonaria (Poda, 1761) | Kaplan, 1974 | ||
| Xanthogramma aegyptium (Wiedemann, 1830) | Bet Dagan | ||
| Xanthogramma pedissequum (Harris, 1776) | Bodenheimer, 1937 Kaplan, 1974 |
Bet Dagan |
| Species | Reference source | Collection |
| Cheilosia mutabilis (Fallén, 1817) | Bodenheimer, 1937 | |
| Dasysyrphus venustus (Meigen, 1822) | Bodenheimer, 1937 | |
| Eumerus graecus Becker, 1921 | Bodenheimer, 1937 | |
| Merodon aeneus Meigen, 1822 | Bodenheimer, 1937 | |
| Mesembrius peregrinus Loew, 1846 | Bodenheimer, 1937 | |
| Syritta spinigera Loew, 1848 | Bodenheimer, 1937 |
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