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Species Allograpta obliqua - Common Oblique Syrphid Fly

Allograpta obliqua? - Allograpta obliqua - female Unknown syrphid - Allograpta obliqua Another specimen - Allograpta obliqua small orange hover fly - Allograpta obliqua Hover fly - Allograpta obliqua - male Allograpta obliqua? - Allograpta obliqua Allograpta obliqua - male fly (?) on California poppy bud - Allograpta obliqua
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 Allograpta
Species obliqua (Common Oblique Syrphid Fly)
Other Common Names
Common Oblique Hover Fly
Explanation of Names
Allograpta obliqua (Say 1823)
Size
6-8.5 mm
Identification
It has transverse yellow bands on the abdomen, and two oblique yellow marks near the tip. Larvae(1) smooth, green, with a broad white median strip and prominent breathing tubes.

Separated from A. exotica by the yellow rather than black katepimeron. Often, the face also lacks a black vertical stripe, though this is not always reliable — while A. exotica always has a black stripe, A. obliqua is variable. In A. exocita, the stripe is distinctly a shiny coal black. There are also slight differences in the abdominal markings.
Habitat
Adults are known from a variety of habitat and visit a variety of flowers(2)
Season
Typically summer to early fall: Jun-Sep in KS, Jul in MN, May-Dec in NC (lower elevations), Jun-Sep in NC mountains, all year in so. FL
Food
Larvae have been recorded feeding on many types of prey, including mites, Lepidoptera, psyllids, mealybugs, whiteflies and at least 50 species of aphids(2)
Life Cycle
Larva --- Pupa --- Adult female --- Adult male
Print References
(3)
Internet References
Fact sheet (Weems 2004-2014)(4)
Works Cited
1.Flower Flies (Syrphidae) and other biological control agents for aphids in vegetable crops
R. Bugg et al. 2008. UC ANR Publication 8285.
2.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.
3.Insects of New England & New York
Tom Murray. 2011. Kollath+Stensass Publishing.
4.University of Florida: Featured Creatures