Eristalis hirta, the black-footed drone fly, is a common Western North American species of syrphid fly first officially described by Loew in 1866.[2] 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.[3][4][1][5][6]
This species is found in Western North America and Northern Europe where it is found in raised bogs, ditches and temporary pools.[7]
For terms see Morphology of Diptera
The frons shining black with pile light brownish yellow The face and frons of female is unusually broad. Pile of face light brownish yellow except the facial stripe (tubercle) and the cheeks which are shining black. The antennae are very dark brownish black, The arista is slightly plumose basally.The eyes are contiguous only in males.
The thorax is dark shining, brownish black with yellowish pile The scutellum is not quite so dark, brownish, shining The pleurae are covered with pale yellow pile.
The legs are black and yellow: The front and middle femurs are black with pale yellow apex and hind femure base and apex yellow. The front and hind tibia are black, with the basal half or more pale yellow and middle tibia mostly pale yellow. The tarsi all black except middle leg basitarsi are yellow.
The abdomen is black with yellow bands and spots. The second segment has a large, sharply marked, yellow orange spots on the sides, widely separated by opaque black medially. There are light yellow posterior marginal bands of the second third and fourth segments are unusually prominent. Segments three and four are shining black, with yellow bands posteriorly.
The wings are hyaline, or very faintly infuscated in the middle and anterior half. The pterostigma (pt) is small. Veination: spurious vein (sv), looping of R4+5 into r4+5, closed cell r2+3.
[8][9]
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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 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 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.
