Drone Flies and Hover Flies

Diptera > Dipptera Index

Drone Flies and Hover Flies are common names that are often used interchangeably to describe the different species, all are in the family Syrphidae. Some sources such as iNaturalistAU describe Hover Flies (Family Syrphidae) and Drone Flies and Allies (Subfamily Eristalinae). There are even different common names for the same species, such as Eristalinus punctulatus (commonly known as Golden Native Drone Fly and Spotted Eye Hover Fly)

Drone Flies (order Diptera)

are a large subfamily Eristalinae (in the family Syrphidae), which includes different tribes. They have one of the widest range of larval habitats, with most Eristalinae larvae being saprophagous (feeding on decaying organic matter). Different species live under bark, in rot-holes in trees, sap trails, and in decaying organic material such as dung and compost. Some species live as scavengers on the remains of insects and other material, whilst others are leaf miners, tunnel in stems and root. Some species specialise on wax-secreting aphids and other are parasitoids in wasp or bees nests.

Drone flies and their relatives are generalist pollinators, the larvae of which are aquatic, breathing through a long, snorkel-like appendage, which give rise to the common name of Rat-tailed Maggots.

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Hover Flies (order Diptera)

also known as Flower Flies or Syrphid Flies, in the family Syrphidae, subfamily Microdontinae (this subfamily being described as Ant Flies and Allies in iNaturalistAU), they are a diverse and common group of insects, found in a wide variety of habitats, from forests to grasslands, national parks, reserves and urban environments.

Hover Flies are small to medium sized insects with large heads, large eyes, and small or inconspicuous antennae. They have medium to slender bodies, and a waist that is not significantly narrow, unless it is a wasp mimicking species. They have one pair of clear wings, and the banded forms have yellow and black bands of equal width.

The Hover Flies have a characteristic flight pattern, often seen hovering in one spot, moving or darting forward or sideways, then hovering again. They are often mistaken for bees or wasps, but are considered harmless and do not have stingers.

Some species of Hover Flies mimic wasps, which can include having the warning coloration of yellow and black, a narrow waist like a wasp and even the ability to mimic the stinging action of a wasp, although they do not sting.

During hot weather, Hover Flies can appear in large numbers, especially in gardens where they are found feeding on flowers and seeking shade. They are helpful in pollinating plants. The adult Hover Flies have also been observed feeding on aphid honeydew.

Hover Fly species are certainly welcomed in urban gardens, as they help control and in some cases help rid the garden of aphids. The Hover Flies lay their eggs in aphid colonies and the larvae feed on the aphids. The Hover Fly larvae appearance is like a flattened and legless maggot. Most larvae are green or brown in colour.

Some species of Hover Fly (Eristalis sp) lay their eggs in stagnant water. The aquatic larvae have a long thin breathing tube and are known by the common name, “rat-tailed maggots”. Other Hover Fly species (Microdon sp, also commonly known as Ant Flies) have a larval form that was originally classified by scientists as a mollusc, because it looks like a small slug. The Microdon larvae are found scavenging in ant nests, mimicking the ants’ chemicals to escape detection by their hosts.

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• Scientific classification
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Subphylum: Hexapoda
• Class: Insecta
• Informal: Pterygotes
• Order: Diptera
• Unranked: Cyclorrhapha
• Informal: Aschiza
• Superfamily: Syrphoidea
• Family: Syrphidae
• Subfamily: Eristaliinae
• Tribe: Eristalini
• Subtribe: Eristalina
• Genus:
  • Eristalinus
  • Eristalis

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• Scientific classification
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Subphylum: Hexapoda
• Class: Insecta
• Informal: Pterygotes
• Order: Diptera
• Unranked: Cyclorrhapha
• Informal: Aschiza
• Superfamily: Syrphoidea
• Family: Syrphidae
• Subfamily: Microdontinae
• Genus: Microdon
  • Microdon amabilis Ferguson, 1926
  • Microdon hardyi Ferguson, 1926
  • Microdon macquariensis Ferguson, 1926
  • Microdon nigromarginalis Curran in Curran & Bryan, 1926
  • Microdon pictipennis (Macquart, 1850)
  • Microdon rieki Paramonov, 1957
  • Microdon waterhousei Ferguson, 1926

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