Northern Plushback

Palpada vinetorum

The Northern Plushback is a fuzzy little fly that loves to hang out in gardens and fields. Its soft, plushy body helps it blend in with flowers and plants, making it a fun insect to spot!

Hábitat: Gardens and fields

Aspecto

The Northern Plushback is a medium-sized fly with a fuzzy, bee-like body striped in bright yellow and black. Its clear wings are held out to the sides while resting. This distinct coloration makes it visually different from other flies, mimicking stinging insects.

ReinoAnimaliaFiloArthropodaClaseInsectaOrdenDipteraFamiliaSyrphidaeGéneroPalpada

Northern Plushback

Categoría

Insectos

Rareza

Common

Peligro

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Snaps

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Datos interesantes

Even though it looks like a bee, this fly cannot sting you!

Its larvae sometimes eat tiny garden pests like aphids!

Some hoverfly larvae live in water and breathe through a 'snorkel'!

They can fly backwards, which is super rare for an insect!

Habilidades especiales

Northern Plushback can hover perfectly still in the air because of its rapid wing beats, helping them spot flowers or mates.

Northern Plushback has a fuzzy yellow and black striped body that helps them look like a stinging bee or wasp, scaring predators away.

Northern Plushback can transfer pollen between flowers on its fuzzy body, helping plants reproduce and creating food for other creatures.

Medidas y detalles

Envergadura: 18-28 mm
Tamaño: 10-14 mm
Esperanza de vida: 15-30 días
Velocidad de vuelo: 15 km/h
Cantidad de patas: 6

Dieta y alimentación

Adult Northern Plushbacks drink flower nectar and eat pollen for energy.

Diferencias por edad: Larvae are often detritivores, eating decaying plant matter, or predators, eating aphids.

Alimentos principales

nectar
pollen

Método de búsqueda

Foraging

Conexiones ecológicas

eats

Cotton aphid

Aphis gossypii

Larval Northern Plushbacks feast on these garden pests.

pollinates

New England aster

Aster novae-angliae

Adults transfer pollen between its beautiful purple flowers.

eaten by

Flower crab spider

Misumena vatia

This ambush spider sometimes preys on adults visiting flowers.

Rasgos

Peludo

Peludo describe a los animales que poseen una cubierta densa de pelo o pelaje suave.

Social

Los animales sociales viven en grupos organizados, cooperando para obtener beneficios de supervivencia como la búsqueda de alimento, la defensa y la cría de descendencia.