Preliminary studies on the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Poonch district, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

The present study was conducted to begin exploration of the Syrphid fauna of Poonch District, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. Surveys of different ecosystems, at elevations of 3000-6000 ft in different localities of Poonch district, Azad Kashmir, resulted in the sampling of some 572 specimens, belonging to 38 species (of 17 genera), in 8 tribes and 2 subfamilies of Syrphidae. The specimens were collected by netting and using yellow pan traps, from March 2015 to August 2016. Of these documented species, 29 are first records for Azad Kashmir. Two genera, Asarkina Macquart, 1834 and Baccha Fabricius,1805, and 7 species, viz., Asarkina incisuralis (Macquart, 1855), Baccha maculata Walker, 1852, Eristalinus obliquus (Wiedemann, 1824), Eristalinus tarsalis (Macquart, 1855) Paragus (Pandasyopthalmus) annandalei Ghorpade, 1992, Rhingia siwalikensis Nayar, 1968 and Syrphus dalhousiae Ghorpade, 1994 are new records for Pakistan. Photographs of 38 documented species are also provided.