Eristalis flavipes

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Eristalis flavipes
Eristalis flavipes 51268204.jpg
Female
Eristalis flavipes-male.jpg
Male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Syrphidae
Genus: Eristalis
Species:
E. flavipes
Binomial name
Eristalis flavipes
Walker, 1849
Synonyms
  • Eristalis americanus Loew, 1866
  • Eristalis melanostomus Hull, 1925
  • Eristalis rufipilis Osten Sacken, 1878
  • Musca tomentosa Gott, 1964

Eristalis flavipes, the orange-legged drone fly, is a species of hoverfly native to North America. [1] It flies from early April to mid-October, and occurs in a wide variety of habitats, particularly wetlands. Hoverflies get their names from the ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies for they are commonly found around and on flowers, from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen. The larvae are aquatic filter-feeders of the rat-tailed type. [1]

Contents

Description

Eristalis flavipes strongly resembles a bumblebee.
For terms see Morphology of Diptera. It is 13 to 17 mm long.

Head

The face, cheeks (gena) and facial stripe are shining black with short yellow pile. The antennae are dark brown and plumose basally. The eyes are broadly contiguous in the male, with eye pile confined mostly to a vertical stripe.

Thorax

The mesonotum, pleurae, and scutellum, with very abundant, long, bright yellow pile over shining black except the center of the nearly hairless mesonotum. The scutellum is wholly light yellow.

Abdomen

The abdomen is a deep shining black with the second segment dark red and covered with long black hairs with some yellow hairs intermixed.

Wings

The wings are hyaline with luteous veins. The female has a large brown spot at the central part of wing. The wing veination: includes a sinuous r4+5 vein, a closed cell r1. The anterior cross- vein (r-m) is oblique and near the middle of discal cell (dm).

Legs

The legs are deep black, with black pile. Joints are reddish the anterior tarsi are brown, the middle and posterior tarsi are light reddish-yellow. The hind femora are somewhat elongate. The hind tibiae are bent. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Eristalis transversa</i> Species of fly

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<i>Palpada agrorum</i> Species of fly

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<i>Blera pictipes</i> Species of fly

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<i>Brachyopa daeckei</i> Species of fly

Brachyopa daeckei, the black-tailed sapeater, is a rare species of syrphid fly that has been observed in northeastern North America. Hoverflies get their names from the ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies for they are commonly found around and on flowers, from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen. Larvae for this genus are of the rat-tailed type. B.daeckei larvae have not been described.

<i>Blera confusa</i> Species of fly

'Blera confusa , the confusing wood fly, is a common species of syrphid fly first officially described by Johnson, 1913 Hoverflies get their names from the ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies for they are commonly found around and on flowers, from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen. The larvae are of the rat-tailed type feeding on exuding sap or in the rot holes of trees.

<i>Blera robusta</i> Species of fly

Blera robusta, the greenish wood fly, is a rare species of syrphid fly first officially described by Curran in 1922. Hoverflies get this name from the ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies, for they are commonly found around and on the flowers from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein rich pollen. The larvae are of the rat-tailed type, feeding on exuding sap or in the rot holes of trees.

<i>Blera humeralis</i> Species of fly

Blera humeralis, the yellow-legged wood fly, is an uncommon species of syrphid fly officially described by Samuel Wendell Williston in 1882. Hoverflies are so-named for the ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are known as flower flies, as they are commonly found around and on flowers from which they get energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen. The larvae are of the rat-tailed type, feeding on exuding sap or in the rot holes of trees.

Blera analis, the orange-tailed wood fly, is an uncommon species of syrphid fly. It was officially described by Macquart, 1842. Hoverflies get their names from their ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies for they are commonly found around and on flowers from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen. The larvae are of the rat-tailed type feeding on exuding sap or in the rot holes of trees.

<i>Palpada albifrons</i> Species of fly

Palpada albifrons , the White-faced Plushback , is a rare species of syrphid fly observed in from Mexico north-eastward along the coastal areas of the United States. Hoverflies can remain nearly motionless in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies, for they are commonly found on flowers from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen. The larvae are aquatic.

<i>Eristalis hirta</i> Species of fly

Eristalis hirta, the black-footed drone fly, is a common Western North American species of syrphid fly, first officially described by Loew in 1866. Hoverflies get their names from the ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies as they are commonly found on and around flowers, from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen. The larvae are aquatic filter-feeders of the rat-tailed type.

Blera metcalfi, Metcalf's wood fly, is a rare species of syrphid fly first officially described by Curran in 1925 Hoverflies get their name from the ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies for they are commonly found around and on flowers from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein rich pollen. The larvae are of the rat-tailed type feeding on exuding sap or in the rot holes of trees.

<i>Eristalis brousii</i> Species of fly

Eristalis brousii, also known as the hourglass drone fly, is a fly species in the Syrphidae family first described by Samuel Wendell Williston in 1882. Aside from Northern Canada, the species has been largely eradicated throughout North America. Eristalis brousii are part of the hoverfly family, known for hovering above flowers to collect nectar and pollen.

References

  1. 1 2 Skevington, Jeffrey H.; Locke, Michelle M.; Young, Andrew D.; Moran, Kevin; Crins, William J.; Marshall, Stephen A. (2019). Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN   9780691189406.
  2. Williston, S.W. (1887). "Synopsis of the North American Syrphidae". Bulletin of the United States National Museum. 31: 1–335.
  3. Hull, Frank Montgomery (1925). "A Review of the Genus Eristalis Latreille in North America". The Ohio Journal of Science. 25: 11–45. hdl:1811/2257.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

Further reading