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
0 = least tolerant, 10 = most tolerant
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