Hairy-eyed flower fly
The hairy-eyed flower fly is a hoverfly with yellow and black stripes, so it looks a bit like a wasp. But it is a harmless fly. If you look really closely, you can see that its big eyes are covered with tiny hairs.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Its larvae eat lots of aphids, so gardeners are happy to have it around.
It travels long distances. Big groups have been seen 5,000 metres up on Denali, North America's highest mountain.
It especially likes yellow and white flowers.
It flies from March to October and spends the winter as a larva.
The male has longer and thicker hair on his eyes than the female.
Most asked questions about Hairy-eyed flower fly
?Does the hairy-eyed flower fly sting?
No. It only looks like a wasp. It is a fly and cannot sting.
?What does the hairy-eyed flower fly eat?
The flies eat pollen and nectar. Their larvae eat aphids.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Syrphus torvus
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Syrphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Syrphidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, North America
Where the facts come from
- Syrphus torvus (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 Sandy Rae from Scotland, UK. 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.
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