Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Small

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

A common North American hoverfly whose black-and-yellow banded abdomen mimics a honey bee, though it has just one pair of wings and cannot sting. Its larvae are aquatic "rat-tailed maggots" that breathe through a long, snorkel-like tube while developing in stagnant water and mud.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 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

Eristalis

Species

Eristalis transversa