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

Eristalis (Eoseristalis) pertinax (Scopoli, 1763)

Gemeine Keilfleckschwebfliege Tapered Drone Fly

Synonyms and other combinations:

Conops lucorum Meigen, 1838 | Eristalis consobrina Illiger, 1807 | Eristalis fossarum Meigen, 1822 | Eristalis guadelupensis Macquart, 1842 | Eristalis inca Bigot, 1880 | Syrphus flavitarsis Malm, 1860 | Syrphus similis Fallen, 1817 |

  • Eristalis pertinax, male 607
    Eristalis pertinax (Scopoli, 1763)  Gemeine Keilfleckschwebfliege  Tapered Drone Fly 
    Eristalis pertinax, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2007-06-10 12:36:41
    Image number: 607
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2007-06-10 12:36:41
  • Eristalis pertinax, male 610
    Eristalis pertinax (Scopoli, 1763)  Gemeine Keilfleckschwebfliege  Tapered Drone Fly 
    Eristalis pertinax, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Harthwald; 2005-08-21 12:26:17
    Image number: 610
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Harthwald
    2005-08-21 12:26:17
  • Eristalis pertinax, male 613
    Eristalis pertinax (Scopoli, 1763)  Gemeine Keilfleckschwebfliege  Tapered Drone Fly 
    Eristalis pertinax, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2005-05-05 14:53:18
    Image number: 613
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2005-05-05 14:53:18
  • Eristalis pertinax, male 614
    Eristalis pertinax (Scopoli, 1763)  Gemeine Keilfleckschwebfliege  Tapered Drone Fly 
    Eristalis pertinax, male
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2005-05-05 14:53:00
    Image number: 614
    male
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2005-05-05 14:53:00
  • Eristalis pertinax, male 626
    Eristalis pertinax (Scopoli, 1763)  Gemeine Keilfleckschwebfliege  Tapered Drone Fly 
    Eristalis pertinax, male
    DE, Chemnitz; 2004-08-01 10:56:58
    Image number: 626
    male
    DE, Chemnitz
    2004-08-01 10:56:58
  • Eristalis pertinax, female 647
    Eristalis pertinax (Scopoli, 1763)  Gemeine Keilfleckschwebfliege  Tapered Drone Fly 
    Eristalis pertinax, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2005-08-14 09:53:46
    Image number: 647
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2005-08-14 09:53:46
  • Eristalis pertinax, female 8165
    Eristalis pertinax (Scopoli, 1763)  Gemeine Keilfleckschwebfliege  Tapered Drone Fly 
    Eristalis pertinax, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2017-07-24 12:22:17
    Image number: 8165
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2017-07-24 12:22:17

Classification:
Eristalis pertinax belongs to the subfamily Eristalinae, tribe Eristalini.
Distribution:
Fennoscandia south to Iberia and the Mediterranean; from Ireland through much of Europe into European parts of Russia and Turkey.
Habitat:
Forest, farmland, gardens, parks, preferably in sheltered areas with shrubs and trees.
Description:
Eristalis pertinax has a body length of 11 - 16.5 mm. The fore feet are yellowish. The pterostigma is dark brown and 2 - 3 times as long as wide. On the 2nd abdomen segment are always two orange-yellow spots, which may be less pronounced in females. The males of the Tapered Drone Fly have a long, conical abdomen and black hind femora.
Biology:
Eristalis pertinax flies in at least two generations from February to November. It also flies on cold days and prefers cool, rather shady places on warm days. Adults visit the flowers of a wide range of low-growing herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees.
The larvae can occur in all types of waters, provided they are sufficiently rich in nutrients. The aquatic larvae are of the rat tailed maggot type.

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.