Tag hoverfly

Buff-Tailed Bear Hoverfly

MaNi Leave a comment

The Buff-Tailed Bear Hoverfly (Criorhina floccosa) is an insect in the Syrphidae family of hoverflies. It is a Hoverfly that mimics a Bumblebee (a fly that looks like a bee).

The Buff-Tailed Bear Hoverfly has a long, orange or yellow-to-red hairy mass on its thorax and a broad, flat abdomen with short hairs on top. The female has a buff-coloured rear abdomen. It has tufts of pale hair at the sides of the abdomen, near the base. It has six dark-coloured legs. Like the Housefly, it has large compact eyes and smaller simple eyes.

Continue reading “Buff-Tailed Bear Hoverfly” →

Pertinax Dronefly

MaNi Leave a comment

The Pertinax Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax) is a common and widespread insect in the Syrphidae family of hoverflies. It is the mostly widely distributed syrphid species in the world. 

It is a bee mimic – because it looks like a bee.

The Pertinax Dronefly is bee-like with yellow and orange or reddish markings. It has six legs, a pair of wings, and large brown eyes. The lower part of its legs (tarsi) are yellow. 

Continue reading “Pertinax Dronefly” →

European Drone Fly

MaNi Leave a comment

The European Drone Fly (Eristalis arbustorum) is a common and widespread insect in the Syrphidae family of hoverflies. It is a syrphid. It is also known as the Hoverfly. 

It is a bee mimic, because it looks like a bee, such as a Honey Bee.

The European Drone Fly is bee-like with yellow and orange or reddish markings. It has a distinctive marking on its thorax. It has six legs, a pair of wings, and large brown-haired eyes.

Continue reading “European Drone Fly” →

Similis Drone Fly

MaNi Leave a comment

The Similis Drone Fly (Eristalis similis) is a common and widespread insect in the Syrphidae family of hoverflies. It is a syrphid. It is also known as the Hoverfly. Similis is Latin for similar, because it is a bee mimic – it looks like a Honey Bee.

The Similis Drone Fly is bee-like with yellow and orange or reddish markings. It has a distinctive marking on its thorax. It has six legs, a pair of wings, and large brown eyes.

Continue reading “Similis Drone Fly” →

What is the difference between the German Wasp and the Yellowjacket Hoverfly?

MaNi Leave a comment

What is the difference between the German Wasp (Vespula germanica) and the Yellowjacket Hoverfly (Milesia virginieusis)? 

The German Wasp is a wasp and the Yellowjacket Hoverfly is not a wasp – it is related to the Drone Fly. Both are insects.

The German Wasp is a vespid and the Yellowjacket Hoverfly is a syrphid.

Continue reading “What is the difference between the German Wasp and the Yellowjacket Hoverfly?” →

Hornet-Mimic Hoverfly

MaNi Leave a comment

The Hornet-Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria) is an insect in the Syrphidae family. It is also called the Belted Hoverfly or the Zoned Volucelle. It is a syrph. 

The Hornet-Mimic Hoverfly has a yellow and reddish-brown body that looks like a wasp or a bee. Its two abdominal stripes are thicker than those of the bee. Its head is yellow. The female has a larger gap between the top of her eyes than the male (the male’s compound eyes touch each other). The male has a darker head than the female. Its wings and legs are reddish-brown. It does not have a stinger at the end of its abdomen and therefore it is harmless to humans.

Continue reading “Hornet-Mimic Hoverfly” →

Marmalade Fly

MaNi Leave a comment

The Marmalade Fly (Episyrphus balteatus) is a small insect in the Syrphidae family of hoverflies. It is also known as the Marmalade Hoverfly. 

The Marmalade Fly is patterned with orange and black bands on the top of its abdomen. The female has dark-orange, light-orange, and black bands. It looks like a wasp, but it is smaller and it does not have a tiny waist. The male has holoptic eyes, which means that the left and right compound eyes touch at the top of its head. The adult has wings. 

Continue reading “Marmalade Fly” →

Yellowjacket Hoverfly

MaNi Leave a comment

The Yellowjacket Hoverfly (Milesia virginieusis) is an insect in the Syrphidae family of hoverflies. It is also known as the Virginia Flower Fly or the Syrphid Fly. It is a syrphid. It is also a pollinator. It is related to the Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax).

The Yellowjacket Hoverfly looks like a hornet, bee, or wasp, but it does not have a stinger on its tail. It is harmless. It is bright, glossy yellow with dark bands on its abdomen. It has six short yellowish legs. It has very large, black compound eyes. It has one pair of translucent (clear, see-through) wings with dark veins. 

Continue reading “Yellowjacket Hoverfly” →