Woolly-tailed marsh fly
Helophilus hybridus
The woolly-tailed marsh fly is a hoverfly that lives in wet places like fens, bogs and the edges of pools. The boy has big yellow spots on his belly. It flies from flower to flower all summer long.
Lives in
Northern Europe, across Asia to the Pacific, and North America from Alaska to Nova Scotia
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It is a hoverfly with no sting.
What does it eat?
The grown-ups visit lots of flowers, like heather, thistles, dandelions, roses and water mint.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Woolly-tailed marsh fly about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Each of its wings is about 8 to 11 millimetres long.
2
It lives in a huge area, from Ireland all the way across Russia and Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.
3
It also lives in North America, from Alaska down to Utah.
4
It flies from early May to early September.
you asked
Most asked questions about Woolly-tailed marsh fly
?Can the woolly-tailed marsh fly sting?
No. It is a hoverfly, and flies have no sting.
?Where does the woolly-tailed marsh fly live?
In wet places across northern Europe, Asia and North America.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Helophilus hybridus
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Syrphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Syrphidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, North America
Where the facts come from
- Helophilus hybridus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Acclivity2. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Housefly
New World screwworm fly
Lovebug
Tsetse fly
Common fruit fly
Asian tiger mosquito
Marsh bluet
Red rock skimmer
Desert firetail
Black-headed skimmer
Orange-tailed sprite
Common flangetail