Dusky-winged Hover Fly
Ocyptamus fuscipennis
They employ Batesian mimicry, copying the appearance of stinging wasps to scare off predators, though they are entirely defenseless.
- Scientific name
- Ocyptamus fuscipennis
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Diptera › Syrphidae › Ocyptamus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Deciduous forest edges, shaded glades, suburban gardens, and damp woodlands.
- Diet
- Adults feed on floral nectar and pollen; larvae are voracious predators of aphids, thrips, and other soft-bodied garden pests.
- Range
- North America, Central America, Caribbean
- Size
- 8 to 11 mm in length
- Lifespan
- 1 to 2 months as adults
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Widespread use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, and the loss of wild nectar-producing plants in urbanized areas.
- Safe to approach?
- Completely harmless to humans. Despite their wasp-like yellow and black markings, they possess no stinger and cannot bite. You can safely observe them hovering at a very close distance. If one lands on you, it is merely drinking sweat for salts; gently brush or blow it away without harming it.
Ocyptamus fuscipennis is a species of syrphid fly in the family Syrphidae.
Photo: mayfly1963, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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