 | | Hoverfly - Eristalis lineata | |
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| | Eristalis lineata | | Eristalis lineata (synonym: Eoseristalis lineata) is a species in the order two-winged flies (Diptera), the suborder Brachycera, the infraorder Cyclorrhapha (section: Aschiza), the superfamily Syrphoidea, the family hoverflies (Syrphidae), the subfamily Eristalinae, the tribe Eristalini and the genus Eristalis. This species is widespread in Europe, North Africa and Asia. | | |
|  | | Eristalis lineata | |
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| | | Adult Eristalis lineata reach body lengths of 11 - 15 mm. They resemble bees. Their faces are covered in white hair, which is divided by a stark black central line. There are also long hairs on their antennae. Eristalis lineata can be confused with Eristalis interrupta. | | |
| | The latter have transparent wings, while the former have wings with zigzagging dark stripes. Another typical characteristic is the marking on the upper surface of the abdomen. The several segments formed through yellow rings are clearly visible. The marking on the second segment resembles a chalice. The base of the hind femur is a yellowish colour. | | |
| | Eristalis lineata prefer to live in semi-open terrain. They can be encountered in sparse forests, at forest edges, in parks, gardens and on scrubland. The adults live off nectar, which they suck from flowering plants and shrubs such as common dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum), thistles (Cirsium), valerian (Valeriana officinalis ) and canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis). | | |
| | Eristalis lineata are active from April to October. The females lay their eggs in shallow, standing, muddy waters with a lot of decaying plants. After hatching, the larvae live in this water which they help to clean by eating rotting plant substrates. | | |
| | The larvae are equipped with a kind of snorkel (hence the name rat-tailed maggot), up to 100 mm in length which has its base on the abdomen of the larvae and reaches up to the water's surface. The larvae pupate after 2 weeks. | | |
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| | Description of images / photos
Photography with Cameras
Nikon D3x, Nikon D300, Canon 50D
Image editing with Photoshop | | 1. | Hoverfly - Eristalis lineata | | 2. | Eristalis lineata |
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