Two Rare Ant Fly Species of Genus Metadon Discovered in India: Zootaxa

Recently, two new extremely rare ant fly species of genus Metadon are discovered in India and the findings are published in the international journal Zootaxa. The species are reported from the northern ridge forest of Delhi and the Sirvuvani hills of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, highlighting conservation relevance of these habitats.

Two rare ant fly species :

Dimension	Key Details
Taxonomy	Genus comprises Metadon; governed by classification under Family Syrphidae.
Species discovered	Metadon Ghorpadei (northern ridge forest of Delhi) and Metadon reemeri (Sirvuvani hills, Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu).
Habitat association	Association with ant nests; larvae often live as inquilines (living within the nest without causing harm to host ants).
Habitat type	Applies to moderately dense vegetation patches within thorny scrub forest.
Behaviour	Exhibits specialised behaviour known as myrmecophily; myrmecophily comprises a beneficial relationship between ants and other organisms where both gain advantages.
Larval ecology	Larvae live inside ant nests and feed on ant brood.
Adult behaviour	Adults seldom visit flowers and tend to remain close to ant nests.
Rarity and detectability	Provides for being extremely rare and difficult to detect.
Uniqueness	Highly specialized ant-associated lifecycle.
Microdontinae diversity	Only 27 Microdontinae species are known from the Indian subcontinent.
Threats	Habitat fragmentation and human pressure; urbanisation and infrastructure development; invasive plant species.
Ecological significance	Demonstrate ecological value of conserving urban forests such as the Delhi Ridge and biodiversity hotspots.