Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Small

Diet

Insectivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Warning Colors

Status

Uncommon

About

This hoverfly lives in meadows and gardens across western North America. Its larvae consume up to five hundred aphids during their development.

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.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Diptera

Family

Syrphidae

Genus

Eupeodes

Species

Eupeodes fumipennis