Eastern hornet fly
The eastern hornet fly is a hoverfly dressed up as a wasp, black with yellow stripes. It even waves its black front legs above its head to look like a wasp's feelers. But it is a fly, and it cannot sting at all.
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Fun facts
When it is in danger, it bends its tail end the way a wasp does when it stings.
When it is scared, it even changes its buzzing to sound more like a wasp.
The front edges of its wings are darker brown, just like on a real wasp.
The females need pollen to be able to make eggs.
Most asked questions about Eastern hornet fly
?Can the eastern hornet fly sting?
No. It is a hoverfly that only looks like a wasp. It cannot sting.
?What does the eastern hornet fly eat?
The grown-ups eat pollen and drink nectar from flowers.
Myth buster
Myth: The eastern hornet fly is a wasp and will sting you.
Truth: No. It is a hoverfly that only looks like a wasp. It cannot sting.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Spilomyia longicornis
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Syrphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Syrphidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Spilomyia 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 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.
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