''Sericomyia carolinensis'' (also called the Two-spotted Pond Fly), is a rare species in the family Syrphidae, found in the Southeastern part of the United States. It is distinguished by its all yellow face, single pair of small narrow yellow spots, and yellow

pilose Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a pl ...

scutellum. Adults noted feeding on pear blossoms. The larval stage is unknown but is likely a "rat tailed" type larvae inhabiting nutrient rich waters, typical for the genus

Sericomyia Sercomyia are large flies with species that are bee mimics both short pile and long pile. Sericomyiine flower flies are common in boreal forests across the Holarctic region and southward at higher elevations into the Oriental and Neotropical regi ...

Description

For terms, see

Morphology of Diptera Dipteran morphology differs in some significant ways from the broader morphology of insects. The Diptera is a very large and diverse order of mostly small to medium-sized insects. They have prominent compound eyes on a mobile head, and (at most) ...

. Size: Head: The

frons Insect morphology is the study and description of the physical form of insects. The terminology used to describe insects is similar to that used for other arthropods due to their shared evolutionary history. Three physical features separate insec ...

is yellow-orange immediately above the antennae. There is a black spot above that, which is more grayish towards the eyes. The vertex is dark brown. * The face is completely yellow without a medial black stripe. The antennae are plumose. The eyes are bare and

holoptic Holoptic refers to one of the ways in which the arthropod eye develops, particularly the eyes of various species of insects. Unlike dichoptic and cycloptic eyes, holoptic eyes meet along the median dorsal line of the head, in many species near ...

in males, but dichoptic in the females. The

occiput The occipital bone () is a cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone overlies the occipital lobes of the cereb ...

has a silvery-white pollen-like covering. Thorax: The scutum and scutellum are dark brown with yellow pile. general syrphid wing diagram Wings: The wings are brown at the bases and at the of front edge of the wing. The vein R4+5 slightly bent into cell r4+5. upright=.75, Insect leg Legs: All basitarsi are orange to reddish-brown. The hind femur is brown with a pale apical tip. Tibia paler brown and distinctly curved. Abdomen: Shiny black with one pair of yellow stripes on second segment. Yellow pile on the margin of abdomen, longer at the anterior.

External links

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References

Hoverflies Eristalinae Insects described in 1917 Hoverflies of North America {{Syrphidae-stub