Syrphidae of the UCLA University Park

Syrphidae is one of the families of the order Diptera with greatest abundance and richness of species in different types of habitats. There are about 202 genera and more than 6000 described species, grouped in the subfamilies Eristalinae, Microdontinae, Syrphinae and Pipizinae. Adults are often associated with flowers from which they obtain pollen and nectar as a source of energy and food. The larvae of the Syrphidae present a very varied morphology and a great diversity of ways of life. Larvae of most species of the subfamily Syrphinae are predators of a wide range of soft-bodied Hemiptera. The main prey are aphids (Aphididae), scale insects (Coccoidea) and whiteflies (Aleyrodidae).The present research was carried out in order to survey the species of Syrphidae (Insecta: Diptera) present in the University Park of the Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado (UCLA), in the State of Lara, Venezuela. In the field, adult flower flies were collected with an entomological hand-net and with the help of Malaise traps every 15 days from January 2013 until December 2015, while the sampling of the immature stages was done by cutting branches and leaves containing eggs and larvae next to their prey (in the case of species with predatory larvae). Adult individuals were pinned, properly labeled and deposited in the Museum of Entomology José Manuel Osorio (MJMO), Deanery of Agronomy, UCLA. The study resulted in 458 specimens of Syrphidae from ten different genera, representing 32 species. Ocyptamus aff. arx, Ocyptamus pumilus (Austen), Palpada albifrons (Wiedemann) and P. pusio (Wiedemann) are species reported for the first time for Venezuela. Genera Lepidomyia Loew, Paragodon Thompson and Polybiomya Shannon are documented for Venezuela for the first time.