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]
Eristalis flavipes strongly like bumblebees
For terms see Morphology of Diptera. Length 13 to 17 mm.
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.
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.
The abdomen is a deep shining black with the second segment dark red and covered with long black hairs with some yellow hairs intermixed.
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).
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]
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Eristalis wing
Insect leg
Eritalis head
Antenna syrphid
dorsal view of Syrphid thorax
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Eristalis flavipes, the orange-legged drone fly, is a species of hoverfly native to North America. 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.
