Black-shouldered Drone Fly
Eristalis dimidiata (Wiedemann, 1830)
Black-shouldered Drone Fly: https://marylandbiodiversity.com/species/9849
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212 Records

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Status

Common in many parts of Maryland, especially in the fall. In Maryland, it flies primarily from April to May and September to early November. The summer gap in observations suggests the possibility that this is at least in part a migratory species in the state. Some nearctic flower flies (family Syrphidae) have been found to be migratory, but flower fly migration in North America has been little studied overall. In the fall it can be found on a variety of flowering plants in meadows and fields near the coast, but it is otherwise associated with forests.

Description

By far the most common large flower fly in Maryland with the general pattern of a wide, dark abdomen punctuated by several thin white transverse lines. The small black triangular area at the base of the wings distinguishes it from all other members of the genus except E. saxorum, which shows a variable amount of metallic blue, visible from certain angles, on the abdomen and/or scutum.

Seasonality Snapshot

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Source: Wikipedia

Eristalis dimidiata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Syrphidae
Genus: Eristalis
Species:
E. dimidiata
Binomial name
Eristalis dimidiata
(Wiedemann, 1830)
Synonyms[1]
  • Eristalis chalybaeus Macquart, 1842
  • Eristalis chalybeus Macquart, 1842
  • Eristalis dimidiatus Wiedemann, 1830
  • Eristalis haesitans Walker, 1849
  • Eristalis incisuralis Macquart, 1850
  • Eristalis inflexus Walker, 1849
  • Eristalis lherminierii Macquart, 1842
  • Eristalis niger Macquart, 1834

Eristalis dimidiata, the black-shouldered drone fly, is a species of hoverfly native to much of Canada and the eastern and northern United States.[1][2][3][4][5] It flies year-round in southern areas and from late March to mid-November further north.[5] It is one of the earliest hoverflies to fly in the spring, and as such likely overwinters as an adult.[5] It lives primarily in forests.[5]

Hoverflies get their names from the ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies as they are commonly found on and around flowers, from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen. The larvae are aquatic filter-feeders of the rat-tailed type.[4][6]

Female

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Eristalis dimidiata Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  2. ^ "Eristalis dimidiata species details". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  3. ^ "Eristalis dimidiata". GBIF. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  4. ^ a b "Eristalis dimidiata Species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  5. ^ a b c d Skevington, Jeffrey H.; Locke, Michelle M.; Young, Andrew D.; Moran, Kevin; Crins, William J.; Marshall, Stephen A. (2019). Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691189406.
  6. ^ Williston, S.W. (1887). "Synopsis of the North American Syrphidae". Bulletin of the United States National Museum. 31: 1–335.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Telford, H. S. (1970). "Eristalis (Diptera: Syrphidae) from America North of Mexico". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 63 (5): 1201–1210. doi:10.1093/aesa/63.5.1201.
[edit]
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