Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / Flies and mosquitoes
Sticker of White-bowed smoothwing
Bug card No. 4748 of 4,939

White-bowed smoothwing

Scaeva affinis
Eats: Nectar and pollenFlies and mosquitoesGardens and meadows6 legs

The white-bowed smoothwing is a hoverfly with a black body and pale moon-shaped marks on its sides. It can hang still in the air like a tiny helicopter. Its babies are hungry little aphid hunters.

Lives in
Western North America, rarer in the east
Top speed
about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Hoverflies look a bit like wasps, but they cannot sting.
What does it eat?
The adult flies visit flowers for nectar and pollen. The larvae gobble up huge numbers of aphids.
For real!Photo of White-bowed smoothwing
Picture by Jengod. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its larvae eat aphids very greedily, which makes it a friend of gardeners.

2

Scientists believe it travels long distances, like migrating birds do.

3

In 1823 it was described as black with three yellow moon shapes on each side.

you asked

Most asked questions about White-bowed smoothwing

?Can the white-bowed smoothwing sting?

No. It is a hoverfly, and hoverflies cannot sting.

?What does the white-bowed smoothwing eat?

Adults visit flowers. The larvae eat aphids.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Scaeva affinis
Named by
Say, 1823
Group
Flies and mosquitoes
Family
Syrphidae
Classification
Insecta > Diptera > Syrphidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Scaeva affinis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Jengod. 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.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: Flies and mosquitoes

HouseflyFlies and mosquitoesNew World screwworm flyFlies and mosquitoesLovebugFlies and mosquitoesTsetse flyFlies and mosquitoesCommon fruit flyFlies and mosquitoesAsian tiger mosquitoFlies and mosquitoes

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows

Confusing bumble beeBees and bumblebeesLeConte's giant lady beetleLadybirdsProvence hairstreakButterfliesNew Forest burnetMothsThe spectacleMothsFire-flag plume mothMoths
Honey jarfor grown-ups