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One of the largest families of the order Diptera - hoverflies, are at the same time one of the most prominent insect groups, being recognized as the second most important pollinator group, bioindicator species, as well as potential biocontrol agents. Thus, raising interest in their distribution, biology and ecology is not surprising. As a contribution to the process of systematizing knowledge on these species, in this paper there are pre­sented details on the fauna of hoverflies of the eastern part of Serbia. It was done by incor­porating information on so far published findings, older, but unpublished records, as well as records collected in recent field trips across 109 localities in Eastern Serbia, all in one place. The most significant findings are Cheilosia subpictipennis Claussen, 1998 and Paragus kopdagensis Hayat & Claussen, 1997, published for the first time for Serbia, and 105 species registered for Eastern Serbia for the first time. Additionally, one potentially new hoverfly species for science is registered: Paragus aff. testaceus.

Due to raising environmental pressures, the number of species exposed to risk of extinction is also increasing. One of the first steps in species preservation is their legal protection. However, it is impossible to protect all species, therefore, conservation priorities are to be established. The aim of this study was to analyze the environmental niches of species from two genera: Eumerus Meigen, 1822 and Platycheirus le Peletier et Serville, 1828 recognized as important for conservation in Serbia (strictly protected and protected according to national legislation or ones to be suggested for future protection). For species of genera Eumerus and Platycheirus, distributional patterns in relation to altitude, annual precipitation and annual mean temperature were established. In order to compare environmental niches of these species, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was carried out, which indicated partial overlap of the environmental niches of these two genera, but Platycheirus species seemed to be better adapted to harsher conditions. Species richness maps indicated that for Eumerus the most species-rich areas were Bačka and mountains of Eastern Serbia, while Dinaric mountains in Western Serbia were rich in species of both genera. Protecting habitats with different combination of climatic conditions will contribute to protection and conservation of species with different environmental preferences. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. OI173002 and Grant no. III43002]

Predicting species distribution in different climates is most often made by climate models (“climate envelope models” - CEM) which are using the current geographical distribution of species and climate characteristics of the area. Hoverflies (Insecta: Diptera: Syrphidae) can act as bioindicators and monitors of climate change and habitat quality. Cheilosia Meigen, 1822 is one of the largest hoverflies genera, with about 450 described species. The aim of this study was to model the current potential distribution of six species from Cheilosia proxima group on the Balkan Peninsula (Cheilosia aerea Dufour, 1848, C. balkana Vujić, 1994, C. gigantea Zetterstedt, 1838, C. pascuorum Becker, 1894, C. proxima Zetterstedt, 1843 and C. rufimana Becker, 1894) using maximum entropy modeling (Maxent). It is observed that parameters with highest influence on the analyzed species are Altitude and BIO 15 (Precipitation Seasonality) for all species, except C. rufimana. Parameter that also substantially influenced for all species, except C. pascuorum, is BIO 18 (Precipitation of Warmest Quarter). The models of current distribution have shown that the most important area of the Balkan Peninsula, for species from Cheilosia proxima group, is Dinaric mountains. Information obtained in this paper can help in future monitoring of species, as well as for the conservation measures, especially for endemics and rare species. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 173002 i br. 43002]