Carolinian Elegant Meromacrus acutus (Fabricius, 1805)    
Kingdom Animalia   >   Phylum Arthropoda   >   Class Insecta   >   Order Diptera   >   Family Syrphidae   >   Genus Meromacrus   

Status:

A mostly southeastern species that appears to be uncommon in Maryland. Recorded from wet forest edges and meadows. Larvae are filter feeders in tree rot holes. Their presence is an indicator of a rich habitat (Skevington, 2019).

Description:

An obvious wasp mimic. The only member of its genus found in Maryland. Large, measuring 13.3-18.6 mm (Skevington, 2019) and identifiable from photos.

There are 39 records in the project database.

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A Carolinian Elegant in Prince George's Co., Maryland (9/16/2020). Verified by Bill Dean/BugGuide. Photo by Barbara Thurlow. (MBP list)

A Carolinian Elegant in Howard Co., Maryland (7/4/2020). Photo by Phil Whitebloom. (MBP list)

A Carolinian Elegant in Harford Co., Maryland (7/25/2022). Verified by Trina Roberts/iNaturalist. Photo by Dave Webb. (MBP list)

Carolinian Elegant in Montgomery Co., Maryland (10/12/2021). (c) maragay, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by maragay via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Carolinian Elegant in Howard Co., Maryland (9/19/2023). (c) Peggy Wolven, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Peggy Muddles via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Carolinian Elegant in Montgomery Co., Maryland (10/12/2021). (c) maragay, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by maragay via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

A Carolinian Elegant in St. Mary's Co., Maryland (6/19/2018). Photo by Jane Kostenko. (MBP list)

A Carolinian Elegant in Baltimore City, Maryland (9/7/2015). Verified by Ken Wolgemuth/BugGuide. This record establishes a new northern limit for the species in BugGuide. Photo by Vincent Vizachero. (MBP list)

Carolinian Elegant in Montgomery Co., Maryland (6/21/2022). (c) paradisiske, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by paradisiske via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Carolinian Elegant in Baltimore City, Maryland (6/15/2021). (c) billythemountain, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by billythemountain via iNaturalist. (MBP list)


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