Long-horned general
Stratiomys longicornis
The long-horned general is a soldier fly from Europe. It is black and shiny, with yellow bands under its tummy and hairy eyes with a blue stripe across them. You can spot it on plants near water.
Lives in
Europe, on reeds and plants beside water
Length
1.2 to 1.6 cm (0.47 to 0.63 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
The grown-ups visit flat-topped white flowers for food. The larvae live in the water.
How big is it?
How long is it?
🍚as long as 2.5 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 34 seconds⚡moves 190 times its own body length every second
How big is Long-horned general compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Long-horned general about 11 km/h (6.8 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its larva lives in water and can grow longer than the grown-up fly.
2
Both the males and the females have hairy eyes.
3
The grown-up flies are out for only a short time, in late May and early June.
you asked
Most asked questions about Long-horned general
?Is the long-horned general dangerous?
No. It is a harmless soldier fly that does not bite or sting.
?Where can I find a long-horned general?
On reeds, wood and leaves near water in Europe, and on white umbrella-shaped flowers.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Stratiomys longicornis
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Stratiomyidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Stratiomyidae
- Lives on
- Europe
Where the facts come from
- Stratiomys longicornis (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 This image is created by user B. Schoenmakers at Waarneming.nl , a source of nature observations in the Netherlands.. CC BY 3.0, 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.
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