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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Aschiza » Syrphid Flies (Syrphidae) » Eristalinae » Milesiini » Milesia » Yellowjacket Hover Fly (Milesia virginiensis)

Species Milesia virginiensis - Yellowjacket Hover Fly

Classification · Other Common Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Yellowjacket Hover Fly - Milesia virginiensis Large Syrphid - Milesia virginiensis It tried to fight its reflection... - Milesia virginiensis fly - Milesia virginiensis fly - Milesia virginiensis Yellowjacket Hoverfly - Milesia virginiensis Yellowjacket Hover Fly? - Milesia virginiensis Large colorful fly? - Milesia virginiensis
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon (Aschiza)
Family Syrphidae (Syrphid Flies)
Subfamily Eristalinae
Tribe Milesiini
Genus Milesia
Species virginiensis (Yellowjacket Hover Fly)
Other Common Names
Virginia Flower Fly, "news bee"
Size
18-21 mm
Identification
Large syrphid that resembles a hornet. Syrphidae of Oklahoma (1) gives a key to separate the two species occurring there, scutellata and virginiensis. M. virginensis has much lighter wings, wider dark bands on abdomen than scutellata.

This fly is believed to be a mimic of the Southern Yellowjacket, Vespula squamosa.
Range
Widespread in eastern North America--Ontario, Michigan, Colorado, south to Texas and east to coast.
Habitat
Fields with flowers, likely near deciduous woodlands.
Season
Mid-summer into early fall: June-August in Oklahoma, May-September in Piedmont and mountains of North Carolina, May-November in coastal plain of that state.
Food
Nectar of a variety of flowers, such as Queen Anne's Lace, Titi (Cyrilla titi), Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
Life Cycle
Larvae feed in decaying heartwood. (See genus guide for reference.)
Remarks
Flies aggressively and buzzes like a hornet. In the southern United States, sometimes called the news bee or good news bee for its habit of hovering in front of a person and "giving them the news". It is also said to be good luck if one can get the insect to perch on a finger, no doubt because this is difficult to do (2) (allexperts.com). A related bit of folklore is that a bee buzzing in the ear is a sign that important news will soon arrive (answers.yahoo.com).
Print References
Syrphidae of Oklahoma (1)
Eaton and Kaufman, pp. 298-299 (2)
Arnett, p. 887--description (3)
Deyrup, Florida's Fabulous Insects, page 128 (not identified as to genus or species). (4)
Lutz, Field Book of Insects (color plate) (5)
Brimley, p. 355 (6)
Taber, Insects of the Texas Lost Pines, p. 75--description. Figure 63 is labeled M. virginiensis, but is actually M. scutellata. (7)
Evans, p. 244 (8)
Internet References
USDA Diptera site has photo.
In a collection from Michigan
Oklahoma Wild Things
Syrphidae of Onatrio
Works Cited
1. SYRPHIDAE OF OKLAHOMA (DIPTERA)
2.Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America
By Eric Eaton, Kenn Kaufman
3.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
By Ross H. Arnett
4.Florida's Fabulous Insects
By Mark Deyrup, Brian Kenney, Thomas C. Emmel
5.Field Book of Insects of the United States and Canada, Aiming to Answer Common Questions,
By Frank Eugene Lutz
6.Insects of North Carolina
By C.S. Brimley
7.Insects of the Texas Lost Pines (W.L. Moody, Jr., Natural History Series, No. 33)
By Stephen W. Taber, Scott B. Fleenor
8.National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders & Related Species of North America
By Arthur V. Evans
Contributed by Cotinis on 20 March, 2004 - 8:49am
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset
Last updated 19 August, 2007 - 2:34am

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