Wavy mucksucker

The wavy mucksucker is a tiny, shiny hoverfly, only 4 to 5 millimetres long. Its body gleams metallic green, like a little jewel. Even its eyes are special: they have curvy brown lines across them.

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Fun facts
Hoverflies can stay almost still in the air while flying, as if they were hanging on a string.
Its back has four stripes that shine copper or purple.
The young of its close relatives are rat-tailed maggots, with a long breathing tube like a tail.
Nobody has described the young of this exact species yet.
Hoverflies are also called flower flies, because they are so often found on flowers.
Most asked questions about Wavy mucksucker
?Does the wavy mucksucker sting?
No. It is a hoverfly, and hoverflies have no stinger.
?How big is the wavy mucksucker?
Only about 4 to 5 millimetres long, smaller than a grain of rice.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Orthonevra nitida
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Syrphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Syrphidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Orthonevra nitida (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 xpda. CC BY-SA 4.0, 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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