Abstract Eumerus Meigen, 1823 is a very speciose genus of flower flies from the Eastern Hemisphere. Several reports of introduced species of this genus in the Americas have been recorded since early in the twentieth century, with a present list of six species recorded to date from the Americas and the US territory of Hawaii. In this paper we give new geographical records for the African-native species Eumerus obliquus (Fabricius, 1805), which reflect the expansion of this fly through Brazil and Paraguay along the last twenty years. At the same time, we report a second species from Paraguay, Eumerus aurifrons (Wiedemann, 1824), being this the first Western Hemisphere record for this Asian-native species. We finally provide an identification key to all of the species of Eumerus presently known from the Americas and Hawaii.

No período entre dezembro de 2001 a dezembro de 2003, realizaram-se coletas com rede entomológica de insetos visitantes das flores de Eryngium horridum (Apiaceae) na Região do Vale do Rio Pardo, RS, Brasil. Esta planta é perene, freqüente em campos secos e apresenta expressiva dispersão. Possui, no Rio Grande do Sul, época de floração entre novembro e janeiro. Foram capturados 1.066 insetos visitantes, destes, 569 Syrphidae. Identificaram-se 60 espécies de Syrphidae, distribuídas em 16 gêneros. O gênero Palpada Macquart, 1834 foi dominante, e Ornidia Lepeletier & Serville, 1828 e Toxomerus Macquart, 1855 abundantes. Das espécies mais freqüentes, Palpada furcata (Wiedemann, 1819) ocupou posição mais elevada. Os sirfídeos apresentaram preferência pelas temperaturas entre 28 e 32ºC, e foram mais freqüentemente coletados entre as 10 e 14 horas, com picos entre as 10 e 11 horas. As fêmeas foram as mais freqüentes. O predomínio de sirfídeos robustos e mais ágeis sobre sirfídeos de menor porte como Toxomerus e Allograpta Osten Sacken, 1875, pode ter sido resultante de competição interespecífica. Eristalinus taeniops (Wiedemann, 1818) é pela primeira vez citada para o Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. A alta diversidade e abundância dos espécimes coletados nas flores de E. horridum são indicadores da importância desta na dieta dos sirfídeos, visto que possui grande número de inflorescências e floração ocorrendo nos meses de baixa oferta de recursos alimentares na área de estudo.

Between December 2001 and December 2003, collections of flower visitors of Eryngium horridum (Apiaceae) were carried out in areas of Rio Pardo Valley, RS, Brazil. This plant is perennial, commonly found in dry fields, presenting a wide distribution. Its flowering period ranges from November to January in Rio Grande do Sul. A total of 1,066 insects were captured, 569 of them belonging to Syrphidae. Sixty species of Syrphidae were identified, distributed in 16 genera. The genus Palpada Macquart, 1834 was considered dominant, and Ornidia Lepeletier & Serville, 1828 and Toxomerus Macquart, 1855 considered abundant. Palpada furcata (Wiedemann, 1819) was the most abundant species. The syrphids showed a preference for temperatures between 28 and 32ºC, and were more frequently collected between 10 and 14 hours, with peaks between 10 and 11 hours. The females were more frequent. The predominance of robust and agile syrphids over those with lower proportions, such as Toxomerus and Allograpta Osten Sacken, 1875, may have been a result of interespecific competition. Eristalinus taeniops (Wiedemann, 1818) is newly recorded from Rio Grande do Sul state. The high diversity and abundance of the species collected from flowers of E. horridum are indicators of the importance of this plant on the diet of the syrphids, since it possesses an elevated number of inflorescences that bloom in months of low resource availability in the study area.