Stats

Lifespan: A few weeks
Size: Small
Diet: Omnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: North America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Warning Colors
Status: Common

About

A bee-mimicking hoverfly whose oblique yellow stripes fool predators into thinking it can sting — though it's entirely harmless. Its larvae hunt aphid colonies voraciously, while adults hover in precise mid-air stasis before darting between flowers to feed on pollen and nectar.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2.
juvenile
An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3.
subadult
A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4.
adult
Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Syrphidae
Genus: Allograpta
Species: Allograpta obliqua