Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » Plant-parasitic Hemipterans (Sternorrhyncha) » Aphidoidea » Aphids (Aphididae) » Woolly Aphids and Gall-making Aphids (Eriosomatinae)
Photo#292641
Fly with Fungus?
Copyright © 2009 GValHart

Fly with Fungus?
Philly Area, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA
June 21, 2009
Size: 3/4 - 1"
We have dozens of these flying around our property and neighborhood. We've been calling them fungi-flies. Is this some sort of fungus infection or is this fly (we thing it's a fly of some kind) supposed to look like this?
Contributed by GValHart on 23 June, 2009 - 9:54am
Last updated 30 October, 2009 - 10:28pm

Moved
Moved from Woolly Aphids. I think other genera in Eriosomatinae can look like this, besides Eriosoma. I don't know of any that have boxwood or azalea as a host.
… Charley Eiseman, 30 October, 2009 - 10:28pm

Wooly Aphid
It is supposed to look like that.
… Harry Zirlin, 23 June, 2009 - 10:41am

 
Boxwood
In case it helps, now that I know what it is, they seem to be identified more specifically by their host plant? These are almost exclusively being found on or near my boxwoods and a few i've found on my azaleas.
… GValHart, 23 June, 2009 - 11:01am

 
Really?
Wow, that's pretty cool...and I'm happy our yard isn't experiencing a fungus problem!
I don't ever remember seeing these before this year and have never even heard of wooley aphids before. I can assume it's a pest? And a fairly large one at that?

Thanks for the ID. I was looking in flies, not aphids
… GValHart, 23 June, 2009 - 10:54am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2009 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.