TRITROPHIC ASSOCIATIONS OF APHIDOPHAGOUS HOVER FLIES MELANOSTOMA, PARAGUS AND SPHAEROPHORIA SPECIES (SYRPHINAE: SYRPHIDAE: DIPTERA) IN DIFFERENT STATES AND TERRITORIES OF INDIA

This article examines the tri-trophic interactions involving hover flies that prey on aphids. Melanostoma orientale (Wiedemann) and Melanostoma univittatum (Wiedemann) consume 9 and 3 aphid species, respectively. All Paragus Latreille species have been documented on 38 aphid species that infest 81 food plant species across 18 states and union territories of India. Among them, the most polyphagous was Paragus serratus (Fabricius), which consumes 23 species of aphids feeding on 59 species of plants, while Paragus tibialis (Fallén) preys on 17 species of aphids infesting 20 species of plants. Similarly, all species of Sphaerophoria Lepeletier & Serville have been documented on 22 aphid species that infest 41 food plant species across 15 states/union territories in India. Among them, the most polyphagous Sphaerophoria indiana Bigot consumes 15 species of aphids that live on 20 species of plants, while Sphaerophoria scripta (Linnaeus) feeds on 13 species of aphids from 27 species of plants. It is noteworthy that documentation efforts for these aphidophagous hover flies in India have been minimal. Numerous regions remain unassessed, emphasising the necessity for a comprehensive survey plan to discover these species in those areas.