Yellow-barred Peat Hover Fly

Sericomyia silentis

The Yellow-barred Peat Hover Fly is a special insect that loves to buzz around flowers. It has bright yellow stripes and looks like a tiny helicopter as it hovers in the air!

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Yellow-barred Peat Hover Fly is a large, chunky hoverfly with a dense covering of black hairs on its body. It has distinctive broad, bright yellow bands across its dark abdomen, creating a striking contrast. Its large, reddish-brown eyes are prominent on its face.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassInsectaOrderDipteraFamilySyrphidaeGenusSericomyia

Yellow-barred Peat Hover Fly

Interesting facts

Adults love to sip sweet flower nectar, while their young munch on decaying plants!

Even though it looks like a bumblebee, this fly cannot sting you at all!

Its larvae, called 'rat-tailed maggots', live in murky water with a long breathing tube!

These amazing insects can fly both forwards and backwards in the air.

Special abilities

Yellow-barred Peat Hover Fly has yellow and black patterns that help them scare predators by looking like a stinging wasp.

Yellow-barred Peat Hover Fly can hover perfectly still in mid-air because of its agile wings that allow precise flight control.

Yellow-barred Peat Hover Fly larvae can break down decaying plant matter because of their special diet in wetland environments.

Measurements & details

Wingspan: 25-30 mm
Size: 12-15 mm
Lifespan: 15-40 days
Flight Speed: 20 km/h
Leg Count: 6

Diet & Feeding

Adults drink flower nectar, while their larvae are detritivores, eating decaying plant matter.

Age differences: Larvae eat decaying plants in water, but adults feed on flower nectar and pollen.

Primary Foods

Nectar
Pollen
Decaying plant matter
Microbial film

Foraging Method

Foraging

Ecological connections

pollinates

Heather

Calluna vulgaris

Adults collect nectar from its purple flowers.

pollinates

Cross-leaved Heath

Erica tetralix

They help these bog plants reproduce.

eaten by

European Garden Spider

Araneus diadematus

Can become prey for orb-weaving spiders.

depends on

Red Bog-moss

Sphagnum capillifolium

Its larvae thrive in decaying moss in peat bogs.

Traits

Striped

Marked with parallel bands or lines of color.

Aerial

Aerial creatures spend a significant portion of their lives airborne, utilizing flight for various activities such as hunting, migration, or nesting.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Herbivorous

This trait characterizes organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of plant material.

Pollinator Magnet

Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.