Trivittate marsh fly
Helophilus trivittatus
Name means: “marsh friend with three stripes”
The trivittate marsh fly is a hoverfly with yellow and dark stripes. Its belly is patterned like a wasp's, but it is really a harmless fly. It loves wet places and visits lots of flowers.
Lives in
Europe and Asia, from Ireland to the Pacific, near wetlands and rivers
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It looks a bit like a wasp, but it cannot sting.
What does it eat?
The grown-ups drink from many kinds of flowers. The babies live in wet mud and eat rotting plant roots.
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)
Trivittate marsh fly about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its name means marsh friend with three stripes, because it likes wet places and has three dark stripes on its back.
2
Looking like a wasp helps keep birds away, even though it has no sting.
3
It has been seen migrating in Sweden, flying long distances.
4
It flies from May to October.
you asked
Most asked questions about Trivittate marsh fly
?Can the trivittate marsh fly sting?
No. It only looks like a wasp. It is a fly and has no sting.
?What does the trivittate marsh fly eat?
The grown-ups drink nectar from flowers. The babies eat rotting plant roots in wet mud.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Helophilus trivittatus
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Syrphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Syrphidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Helophilus trivittatus (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 unknown author. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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