Microdontinae

There are 43 genera and more than 400 species in this subfamily of Syrphidae. The Microdontinae are myrmecophilous, meaning they live in the nests of ants. Larval Microdontinae are scavengers or predators in ant nests, and, in contrast to other syrphid larvae, have no readily apparent body segmentation. Some species also do not exhibit the typical adult flower-visiting behaviour of other hoverflies, but instead remain near their larval host colonies (some of these species have no functional mouthparts and cannot feed as adults)