Orange Spur Fly
Teuchocnemis bacuntius (Walker, 1849)
Orange Spur Fly: https://marylandbiodiversity.com/species/9917
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24 Records

Status

Uncommon. Flies mostly in April and May in Maryland. Has been found near seeps along sandy streams, patrolling rotting stumps and logs, and visiting Crataegus (hawthorn) flowers (Skevington, 2019). Larvae are unknown.

Description

Large and beautiful fly, measuring 13.5-18.1 mm. Easily identified by the "large apical orange markings on the tergites, and the orange proleg" (Skevington, 2019). Thought to mimic paper wasps (genus Polistes) (BugGuide).

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Source: Wikipedia

Teuchocnemis bacuntius
Teuchocnemis bacuntius
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Syrphidae
Subfamily: Eristalinae
Tribe: Milesiini
Subtribe: Temnostomina
Genus: Teuchocnemis
Species:
T. bacuntius
Binomial name
Teuchocnemis bacuntius
(Walker, 1849)[1]
Synonyms

Teuchocnemis bacuntius , (Walker, 1849), the Orange Spur Fly , is a rare species of syrphid fly observed in eastern half of the United States. Syrphid flies are also known as Hover Flies or Flower Flies because the adults are frequently found hovering around flowers from which they feed on nectar and pollen. Adults are 13.5–18.1 mm (0.53–0.71 in) long, orange with a swolen hind femur and the hind tibia of the male with a ventral spur. The larvae are unknown.[2][3]

Distribution

[edit]

United States.

References

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  1. ^ a b Walker, F. (1849). List of the specimens of dipterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part III. London: British Museum (Natural History). pp. 485–687.
  2. ^ Williston, S.W. (1887). "Synopsis of the North American Syrphidae". Bulletin of the United States National Museum. 31: 1–335.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Skevington, Jeffrey H (2019). Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America. ISBN 9780691189406.