White-bowed Smoothwing

Scaeva affinis

The White-bowed Smoothwing is a friendly-looking fly with a bright, shiny body. It loves to buzz around flowers and helps plants by spreading pollen.

Hábitat: Urban areas

Aspecto

The White-bowed Smoothwing is a medium-sized hoverfly with a black body marked by distinctive arc-shaped yellow bands on its abdomen, creating a 'bow' pattern. Its head features large reddish-brown eyes, and it has clear, iridescent wings. This fly lacks the thin 'waist' of a wasp or bee, making it visually different despite its mimicry.

ReinoAnimaliaFiloArthropodaClaseInsectaOrdenDipteraFamiliaSyrphidaeGéneroScaeva

White-bowed Smoothwing

Categoría

Insectos

Rareza

Common

Peligro

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Snaps

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Datos interesantes

Its large eyes are made of thousands of tiny lenses for amazing all-around vision.

These harmless flies are often mistaken for stinging wasps or bees!

Wow, this little fly can actually fly backwards or even upside down!

Young White-bowed Smoothwings look like tiny, legless green slugs.

Habilidades especiales

White-bowed Smoothwing has a yellow and black striped body that helps them look like a stinging bee, scaring away predators.

White-bowed Smoothwing can hover perfectly still in the air because of its powerful wing muscles, letting them spot flowers or mates easily.

Its larvae are incredible aphid predators, eating many tiny garden pests that helps protect plants and crops.

Medidas y detalles

Envergadura: 18-25 mm
Tamaño: 8-12 mm
Esperanza de vida: 15-30 días
Velocidad de vuelo: 12 km/h
Cantidad de patas: 6

Dieta y alimentación

Adults sip sweet nectar and pollen, while their young feast on tiny plant pests.

Diferencias por edad: Adults consume nectar and pollen; larvae are predatory, hunting aphids and other soft-bodied insects.

Alimentos principales

nectar
pollen
aphids
mealybugs
small soft-bodied insects

Método de búsqueda

Foraging

Conexiones ecológicas

eats

Black Bean Aphid

Aphis fabae

Larvae prey on these common garden pests.

pollinates

Creeping Thistle

Cirsium arvense

Adults visit flowers for nectar and pollen.

eaten by

Great Tit

Parus major

Birds may prey on adult hoverflies.

pollinates

Common Dandelion

Taraxacum officinale

A frequent food source for adults.

Rasgos

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.

Colorido

Colorido describe a organismos u objetos que exhiben una amplia variedad de colores brillantes y distintivos.

Herbívoro

Este rasgo caracteriza a los organismos cuya dieta consiste total o principalmente en material vegetal.

Imán para polinizadores

Describe plantas que son particularmente atractivas y beneficiosas para una amplia variedad de organismos polinizadores.

Diurno

Los animales diurnos están activos principalmente durante el día y suelen descansar o dormir por la noche.

Adaptado a la ciudad

Esta característica de hábitat indica especies que pueden coexistir con los humanos en entornos urbanos y suburbanos, utilizando estructuras artificiales y espacios verdes.