Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) ➔ Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods) ➔ Class Insecta (Insects) ➔ Order Diptera (True flies) ➔ Family Syrphidae (Hoverflies)

Eristalis (Eoseristalis) arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758)

Kleine Keilfleckschwebfliege European Drone Fly

Synonyms and other combinations:

Eristalis bulgarica Szilady, 1934 | Eristalis polonica Szilady, 1934 | Eristalis sachalinensis Matsumura, 1916 | Eristalis strandi Duda, 1940 | Eristalomya distincta Shiraki, 1968 | Musca lyra Harris, 1776 | Musca nemorum Linnaeus, 1758 | Musca parralleli Harris, 1776 | Musca parrelleli Harris, 1776 | Syrphus deflagratus Preyssler, 1793 | Syrphus succinctus Panzer, 1804 | Volucella tricincta Müller, 1776 |

  • Eristalis arbustorum, female 602
    Eristalis arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758)  Kleine Keilfleckschwebfliege  European Drone Fly 
    Eristalis arbustorum, female
    BG, Naturpark Zlatni Piassatzi; 2008-09-04 12:42:27
    Image number: 602
    female
    BG, Naturpark Zlatni Piassatzi
    2008-09-04 12:42:27
  • Eristalis arbustorum, female 603
    Eristalis arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758)  Kleine Keilfleckschwebfliege  European Drone Fly 
    Eristalis arbustorum, female
    BG, Naturpark Zlatni Piassatzi; 2008-09-04 12:42:53
    Image number: 603
    female
    BG, Naturpark Zlatni Piassatzi
    2008-09-04 12:42:53
  • Eristalis arbustorum, male 608
    Eristalis arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758)  Kleine Keilfleckschwebfliege  European Drone Fly 
    Eristalis arbustorum, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2005-08-17 18:12:22
    Image number: 608
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2005-08-17 18:12:22
  • Eristalis arbustorum, male 609
    Eristalis arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758)  Kleine Keilfleckschwebfliege  European Drone Fly 
    Eristalis arbustorum, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2005-08-17 18:11:57
    Image number: 609
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2005-08-17 18:11:57
  • Eristalis arbustorum, male 640
    Eristalis arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758)  Kleine Keilfleckschwebfliege  European Drone Fly 
    Eristalis arbustorum, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2005-09-18 12:05:07
    Image number: 640
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2005-09-18 12:05:07

Classification:
Eristalis arbustorum belongs to the subfamily Eristalinae, tribe Eristalini.
Distribution:
Throughout the Palaearctic region, including North Africa; North America from Wisconsin to Labrador and south to Kansas and South Carolina; reaches the Oriental region in northern India.
Habitat:
Wetlands, alluvial forest, parks, gardens, farmland.
Description:
Eristalis arbustorum has a body length of 9 - 11 mm. The eyes of the males are touching. The face is completely white hairy. Only with old flies it may show a bald narrow middle stripe. The antennae are brown or black. The arista is clearly feathered. The yellowish spots on the 2nd abdominal segment are dull. Front and middle tibia are at least partially black. The wing stigma is less than 3 times as long as it is wide.
In the similar Eristalis abusiva the eyes of the males are separated by a narrow space and the arista does not have long hairs.
Biology:
Eristalis arbustorum flies in several generations from March to November. It prefers to live in open habitats.
Larvae were found in different aquatic environments with decomposing organic matter.

References, further reading, links:
  1. Pape T. & Thompson F.C. (eds) (2017). Systema Dipterorum (version 2.0, Jan 2011). In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2017 Annual Checklist (Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds.). Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2017. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-884X.
  2. M.C.D.Speight: Species Accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera), Glasgow 2011, Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae, vol. 65, 285 pp., Syrph the Net publications, Dublin.
  3. Gerald Bothe: Bestimmungsschlüssel für die Schwebfliegen (Diptera, Syrphidae) Deutschlands und der Niederlande, DJN, 1984, ISBN 3-923376-07-3
  4. Menno Reemer, Willem Renema, Wouter van Steenis, Theo Zeegers, Aat Barendregt, John T. Smit, Mark P. van Veen, Jeroen van Steenis, Laurens van der Leij: De Nederlandse Zweefvliegen (Diptera: Syrphidae), Nederlandse Fauna 8, 2009.
  5. Speight, M.C.D. & Sarthou, J.-P. (2014) StN keys for the identification of the European species of various genera of Syrphidae (Diptera) 2014 / Clés StN pour la détermination des espèces Européennes de plusieurs genres des Syrphidae (Diptères) 2014. Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae, Vol. 80, 125 pp, Syrph the Net publications, Dublin