Drone Fly, Rat-tailed Maggot
Eristalistenax
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Regional
This bug has been reportedly found in the following regions:
Deer, Arkansas
Nokomis, Florida
Elkhart, Indiana
Benton, Kentucky
Albertville, Minnesota
St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
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Gardener's Notes:
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wallaby1
(Zone 8a) |
June 2007 |
Positive
This fly is harmless, it resembles a drone worker bee hence the name. It is quite large, has no narrow waist, the eyes are typical of a fly and it has no sting!
This can easily be confused with other Eristalis, in particular E. pertinax but also E. arbustorum. With careful observation and research I have found the main differences.
The tibiae of the hind legs on E. tenax are dark, with little or no yellow on the legs. E. pertinax has bicoloured tibiae on the hind legs.
E. tenax has a more distinct, broader dark stripe down the centre of the face than E. pertinax, while E. arbustorum has no stripe or very little.
E. tenax has a near cylindrical abdomen, the female is variable and sometimes has little or no orange pattern. E. pe... read more
This can easily be confused with other Eristalis, in particular E. pertinax but also E. arbustorum. With careful observation and research I have found the main differences.
The tibiae of the hind legs on E. tenax are dark, with little or no yellow on the legs. E. pertinax has bicoloured tibiae on the hind legs.
E. tenax has a more distinct, broader dark stripe down the centre of the face than E. pertinax, while E. arbustorum has no stripe or very little.
E. tenax has a near cylindrical abdomen, the female is variable and sometimes has little or no orange pattern. E. pe... read more
m
melody
Benton, KY (Zone 7a) |
September 2006 |
Positive
This fly actually looks like a bee. It feeds on nectar and is common throughout most of North America.