''Eristalis flavipes'', the orange-legged drone fly, is a species of
hoverfly native to North America.
It flies from early April to mid-October, and occurs in a wide variety of habitats, particularly wetlands. Hoverflies get their names from the ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies for they are commonly found around and on flowers, from which they get both energy-giving
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
and protein-rich
pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
. The larvae are aquatic filter-feeders of the
rat-tailed type.
Description
''Eristalis flavipes'' strongly resembles a
bumblebee.
For terms see
Morphology of Diptera.
It is 13 to 17 mm long.
;Head
The face, cheeks (gena) and facial stripe are shining black with short yellow pile. The antennae are dark brown and plumose basally. The eyes are broadly contiguous in the male, with eye pile confined mostly to a vertical stripe.
;Thorax
The mesonotum, pleurae, and scutellum, with very abundant, long, bright yellow pile over shining black except the center of the nearly hairless mesonotum. The scutellum is wholly light yellow.
;Abdomen
The abdomen is a deep shining black with the second segment dark red and covered with long black hairs with some yellow hairs intermixed.
;Wings
The wings are hyaline with luteous veins. The female has a large brown spot at the central part of wing. The wing veination: includes a sinuous r
4+5 vein, a closed cell r1. The anterior cross- vein (r-m) is oblique and near the middle of discal cell (dm).
;Legs
The legs are deep black, with black pile. Joints are reddish the anterior tarsi are brown, the middle and posterior tarsi are light reddish-yellow. The hind femora are somewhat elongate. The hind tibiae are bent.
References
Further reading
*
* Eristalis (Diptera: Syrphidae) from America North of Mexico, Telford H.S. 1970. Ann. Ent. Soc. Am. 63(5): 1201–1210.
External links
*
*
Eristalini
Insects described in 1849
{{Eristalini-stub