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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Aschiza" » Hover Flies (Syrphidae) » Syrphinae » Syrphini » Eupeodes » subgenus Metasyrphus (Eupeodes subgenus Metasyrphus) » American Hover Fly (Eupeodes americanus)

Species Eupeodes americanus - American Hover Fly

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Identification · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · See Also · Print References · Works Cited

syrphidae sp larva - Eupeodes americanus

On an aphid infested iris plant - Eupeodes americanus

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Diptera (Flies)

No Taxon ("Aschiza")

Family Syrphidae (Hover Flies)

Subfamily Syrphinae

Tribe Syrphini

Genus Eupeodes

No Taxon (subgenus Metasyrphus)

Species americanus (American Hover Fly)

Other Common Names

Long-tailed Aphideater(1)

Explanation of Names

Eupeodes americanus (Wiedemann 1830)

Identification

It can be grossly differentiated from Syrphus rectus by a dark stripe down the front of the face. The egg is ~0.96x0.26 mm, with broken longitudinal ridges. The larva is blackish with orange markings, looks somewhat spiky. The puparia is grayish-orange and appears mottled, much like the larva. First instars are difficult to separate if they were not seen emerging from an egg. (Short & Bergh 2003)(2)

Further info here(3)

Habitat

Adults found in forests, fields, plantations, open areas, gardens, and sand dunes(1)

Food

Larvae: wide variety of aphids, such as woolly apple aphid, rosy apple aphid and spirea aphid

Larvae noted to also eat adelgids(1)

Life Cycle

See

See Also

females are not distinguishable from those of E. fumipennis and E. pomus(3)

Print References

Bergh J.C., Short B.D. (2008) Ecological and life-history notes on syrphid predators of woolly apple aphid in Virginia, with emphasis on Heringia calcarata. BioControl 53: 773-786 (Abstract)

Works Cited

1.	Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America Jeffrey H. Skevington and Michelle M. Locke, Andrew D. Young, Kevin Moran, William J. Crins and Stephen A. Marshall. 2019. Princeton University Press.

2.	Pfeiffer D.G. (1997-2013) The Virginia fruit page [at The Mid-Atlantic Regional Fruit Loop]

3.	Flower Flies (Syrphidae) - Syrphidae.lifedesks.org

Contributed by tom murray on 29 September, 2005 - 7:07am
Additional contributions by Steve Nanz, Beatriz Moisset, v belov, Marci Hess
Last updated 19 November, 2019 - 1:53pm

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