Large-tailed Aphideater
Eupeodes volucris
They are exceptional aerial acrobats, capable of flying backward, sideways, and hovering perfectly still in mid-air to scout for mates or flowers.
- Scientific name
- Eupeodes volucris
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Diptera › Syrphidae › Eupeodes
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Meadows, agricultural fields, gardens, roadsides, and forest edges.
- Diet
- Adults feed on nectar and pollen; larvae are active predators of aphids, thrips, and other soft-bodied insects.
- Range
- North America, Central America
- Size
- 8 to 12 mm in length
- Lifespan
- 1 to 2 months as adults; up to 1 year including overwintering larval stages.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Widespread pesticide and insecticide use, loss of wild meadows, and intensive monoculture farming.
- Safe to approach?
- Completely harmless. Though they mimic wasps to deter predators, they possess no stinger and cannot bite. You can safely observe them hovering at close range; they may even land on your skin to sip sweat for essential salts.
Eupeodes volucris , the bird hover fly , is a species of syrphid fly in the family Syrphidae.
Photo: Ken-ichi Ueda, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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