order
Coleoptera
“Adult Beetles”
Coleoptera
“Larval Beetles”
Diptera
“True Flies”
Ephemeroptera
“Mayflies”
Hemiptera
“True Bugs”
Lepidoptera
“Aquatic Caterpillars, Snout Moths”
Megaloptera
“Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies”
Odonata
“Dragonflies and Damselflies”
Plecoptera
“Stoneflies”
Trichoptera
“Caddisflies”
family
Syrphidae
“Hover Flies”
Family Overview
Syrphidae
Hover Flies
The head is not evident, but is reduced to some sclerotized rods inside the thorax; there are no segmented legs; the pair of posterior spiracles are fused with each other and usually on the apex of a telescopic respiratory tube which can be short or very long.
Characteristics
POLLUTION TOLERANCE
Midwest: up to 0
Southeast: up to 10
FEEDING HABITS
Collector / Gatherer
MOVEMENT
Burrower
Diagnostic Characters
Order
Legs Absent
Family
Head Not Externally Sclerotized
Mouth Hooks Moving Vertically
Posterior Spiracles Fused
+ Expanded Character List
Order:
Wings and wing pads absent. Eye spots sometimes visible, but compound eyes absent. Segmented legs absent, but sometimes fleshy prolegs present. Sometimes with distinct head, often without head or with head drawn deeply into thorax. Body flattened, cylindrical, or maggot-like.
Family:
The head is not evident, but is reduced to some sclerotized rods inside the thorax; there are no segmented legs; the pair of posterior spiracles are fused with each other and usually on the apex of a telescopic respiratory tube which can be short or very long.
Dorsal
Ventral