Drone fly - male

Enjoying the ivy pollen

comments (5)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

I was wondering, what gives away that this is the male? Posted 3 years ago
1. Claire Hamilton
  
  Lion
  
  In most hoverfly's, the male's eyes are close together or touching, and the female's are farther apart. (I just learnt this myself!) Posted 3 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    That's a really excellent tip, straightforward and effective. Love it, thanks. Posted 3 years ago
  2. 1. Claire Hamilton
      
      Lion
      
      You are welcome, one of the wildlife sites I belong to produced a PDF on identifying hoverflies, its brilliant! Posted 3 years ago
    2. 1. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        Nice! In case the PDF has a public link, you can consider adding it here:
        https://www.jungledragon.com/species/guide
        
        Same goes for any interesting resource that helps with identification. Posted 3 years ago

The Common Drone Fly

"Eristalis tenax" is a common, migratory, cosmopolitan species of hover fly. It is the most widely distributed syrphid species in the world, and is known from all regions except the Antarctic. It has been introduced into North America and is widely established. It can be found in gardens and fields in Europe and Australia. It has also been found in the Himalayas.

Info 46 0

Similar species: True Flies

Species identified by Claire Hamilton