Black-shouldered drone fly
The black-shouldered drone fly is a hoverfly, a fly that can hang almost still in the air. It is mostly black with white stripes on its belly. Its clear wings have a dark patch near the base, like little black shoulders.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
It is one of the first hoverflies to fly in spring, so it probably spends the winter as a grown-up fly.
In the warm south it can be seen flying all year round.
Its larva is a rat-tailed maggot that lives in water and breathes through a long tube like a snorkel.
Hoverflies are also called flower flies, because they are so often found on flowers.
Most asked questions about Black-shouldered drone fly
?Can a drone fly sting?
No. It is a fly, not a bee, and it has no sting.
?What do drone flies eat?
The adults eat nectar and pollen from flowers.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Eristalis dimidiata
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Syrphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Syrphidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Eristalis dimidiata (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 Rhododendrites. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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