The hoverfly collection (Diptera, Syrphidae) of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) at Calavi (Benin)

Dataset comprises historical records from circa 1970 to 2019, focusing on Togo, Benin and Nigeria but with some additional material from further countries in tropical Africa. The biodiversity centre of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Benin (IITA) houses together with the IFAN museum at Dakar, Senegal one of the largest collection of insects in West Africa. The geographic scope of the collection is mainly Benin, Nigeria and Togo with additional material from various countries in tropical Africa. It constitutes the largest non-plant biodiversity repository within all research centers of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The IITA insect collection includes to date more than 370,000 specimens and belongs to the few actives of its kind in the subregion. Roughly 6,000 species from 335 insect families have been identified from the sampled material, of which the Coleoptera and Lepidoptera build the most biodiverse orders with 2300 and 1200 identified species, respectively. On-going research on Diptera focusses mainly on Tephritidae but also on pollinating flies in the framework of a collaborative project (Pollinator Information Network for Two-Winged Insects (PINDIP)) (link to: https://www.pindip.org/) involving several Africa based taxonomic institutions and lead by the Royal Museum of Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium.