Exotic streaktail

Allograpta exotica

Eats: Nectar and pollen Flies and mosquitoesGardens and meadows6 legs

The exotic streaktail is a small hoverfly. Hoverflies can stand still in the air like tiny helicopters. Its babies are great helpers in the garden, because they often eat aphids.

Lives in

North America

Top speed

about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)

Flying, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Harmless

Harmless. Hoverflies are flies and have no sting.

What does it eat?

Grown-up hoverflies visit flowers for nectar and pollen. The larvae often hunt aphids.

Photo of Exotic streaktail — Picture by Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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)

Exotic streaktail about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)

A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

It grows from an egg to a grown-up fly in only about 15 days.

A grown-up lives for only about 10 days.

Its larvae often eat aphids, little bugs that suck the juice out of plants.

you asked

Most asked questions about Exotic streaktail

?Does the exotic streaktail sting?

No. It is a hoverfly, and hoverflies have no sting.

?How long does the exotic streaktail live?

Its whole life from egg to adult takes about 15 days, and then the adult lives about 10 more days.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Allograpta exotica
Group: Flies and mosquitoes
Family: Syrphidae
Classification: Insecta > Diptera > Syrphidae
Lives on: North America

Where the facts come from

Allograpta exotica (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 Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, 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