# Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly

*Eristalis stipator*

Their aquatic larvae, known as rat-tailed maggots, use a long, snorkel-like breathing tube to breathe underwater.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Diptera › Syrphidae › Eristalis
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Meadows, gardens, wetlands, and forest edges.
- **Diet:** Adults feed on nectar and pollen; larvae feed on decomposing organic matter.
- **Range:** North America
- **Size:** 10-14 mm
- **Lifespan:** 1-2 months (adult)
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Pesticide use, habitat fragmentation, and loss of wet breeding sites.
- **Safe to approach?:** Completely harmless. Although it mimics a stinging bee to deter predators, it has no stinger or venom. You can safely observe it hovering near flowers at a close distance.

## About

Eristalis stipator is a species of syrphid fly in the family Syrphidae.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/1c7b1d79-7ad2-403a-945d-d183179f1bc8
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/425250
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eristalis stipator
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/444886375/medium.jpeg (Thomas Boe, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.