Cheilosia thessala
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Cheilosia thessala faces severe threats from habitat degradation in its restricted mountain range. Climate change poses a particularly acute risk as warming temperatures force this cold-adapted hoverfly to retreat to increasingly limited high-altitude refugia. Agricultural intensification and grazing pressure in surrounding valleys further fragment its already narrow habitat corridors.
Habitat
This endemic hoverfly inhabits high-altitude mountain meadows and alpine grasslands in the Thessalian mountains of Greece. It requires flower-rich environments with specific host plants and is typically found at elevations above 1,500 meters where cooler temperatures persist.
