A checklist of the hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Austria.

Hoverflies are a conspicuous and popular family within the Diptera. The larvae as well as the adults are able to colonize a wide range of habitats, and many species play important roles as pollinators, in pest management and nowadays in applied nature conservation issues. Despite of this, the state of knowledge on the hoverflies of Austria is deficient: Available literature is outdated in systematics and the species inventory is obviously incomplete. These facts led us to study the Austrian hoverfly fauna in more detail. Syrphidae records from an extensive literature search, additional unpublished data from museum collections and data from own fieldwork were compiled to build a comprehensive checklist of Austrian hoverflies. The species distributions are given by federal state in order to retain a precise overview of this Diptera group. The framework of this research is based on 20520 records and in total, 271957 individuals. The checklist includes 430 confirmed species. An additional 25 hoverfly species are discussed but not included in the list. These are species for which it is unclear if the locality lies within the present borders of Austria, or whose voucher specimens were not available for re-examination. In total 17 hoverfly species are new to Austria: Anasimyia contracta Claussen Torp, 1980; Brachyopa grunewaldensis Kassebeer 2000; Brachyopa obscura Thompson Torp, 1982; Brachyopa silviae Doczkal Dziock, 2004; Cheilosia orthotricha Vuji Claussen, 1994; Eristalis picea (Falln, 1817); Melangyna ericarum (Collin, 1946); Melangyna lucifera Nielsen, 1980; Melangyna pavlovskyi Violovitsh, 1956; Melanogaster curvistylus Vuji Stuke, 1998; Merodon moenium (Wiedemann, 1822); Paragus absidatus Goeldlin, 1971; Paragus bradescui Stanescu, 1981; Platycheirus laskai (Nielsen, 1999); Sphegina verecunda Collin, 1937; Temnostoma angustistriatum Krivosheina, 2002 and Temnostoma meridionale Krivosheina Mamayev, 1962. In addition, 278 first records for several Austrian federal states are published. With 331 species, Styria currently hosts the largest number of documented species per federal state, followed by Lower Austria (307 spp.), Upper Austria (269 spp.), Carinthia (259 spp.), Vorarlberg (234 spp.), Burgenland (201 spp.), North Tyrol (172 spp.), Vienna (169 spp.), Salzburg (155 spp.) and Eastern Tyrol (154 spp.).