#flower flies

[mothmansfather]

Toxomeres geminatus, a lovely little hoverfly bee mimic with the enigmatic common name Eastern Calligrapher.

Rye, NH / 28 October 2025

iNaturalist entry

[celestialmacros]

American Harlequin (Xanthogramma flavipes)

June 4, 2023

Southeastern Pennsylvania

[vesper-tinus]

Eurasian Drone Fly (Eristalis arbustorum) on geranium leaf.

[blogbirdfeather]

Coleostephus myconis with/com Eristalis tenax

Carnaxide/Portugal (3/03/2024)

[Nikon Coolpix P900; 135mm; 1/800s; F7,1; 100 ISO]

[momentsofcrisis]

7/29/2023

Mount Rainer

1. Long horned Beetle (evodinus monticola)

2. Bee mimicking flower fly (sericomyis chalcopyga)

3. Gossamer-winged butterfly - Boisduval's Blue (plebejus icarioides)

[ayanos-pl]

近所のお宅の菊にナミハナアブとオオハナアブが来ていた（ほかにも数種のアブと蜂が来ていた）。

[what-bug-is-this]

What Bug Is This? 95: Common Oblique Syrphid Fly

Image Source: llsrvd; license

Common name(s): common oblique syrphid fly, oblique syrphid fly, oblique streaktail, oblique stripetail fly (note that “syrphid fly” can be easily swapped out with “flower fly” or “hover fly” with “flower fly” being more common in the US)

Scientific name: Allograpta obliqua

Can it hurt me?: No. While they do resemble bees and wasps, they are not capable of stinging you. The stripes are likely an adaptation to fool predators into thinking they are more dangerous to hunt than they actually are.

Can it hurt my plants?: On the contrary, they are beneficial for your garden in both their larval and adult stages. As larvae, they feed on aphids. As adults, they are pollinators.

Should I kill it?: No

Anything else I should know?: This species is very widespread and common in Canada, the US, and Mexico, however many people do not even know it exists. They can be easy to miss as they are fairly small and often confused for other insects such as bees. While many flower flies (the family of insects the common oblique flower fly belongs to) are parasitoids of other insects, the larvae of this species live outside the bodies of their hosts.

[biosemiotica]

Autumn 2020

Flower flies and lesser calamint flowers (Clinopodium nepeta)