Batman hoverfly
The Batman hoverfly is a yellow and black fly that loves flowers. On its back, just behind the head, it has a black pattern that looks like a skull, or like the Batman sign. It can hover in the air like a tiny helicopter.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Its wings are 7 to 12 millimetres long.
In collections, its yellow colour soon fades to brown after it dies.
You can see it on flowers from May until October.
It reached North America in 2005 and now lives on the Pacific coast.
Batman hoverflies can be quite different from each other in size, shape and colour.
Most asked questions about Batman hoverfly
?Why is it called the Batman hoverfly?
Because of the black pattern on its back, which looks a bit like the Batman sign or a skull.
?Does the Batman hoverfly sting?
No. Hoverflies have no sting, even though they are yellow and black.
?When can you see Batman hoverflies?
From May to October, sitting on flowers in gardens, parks and woods.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Myathropa florea
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Syrphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Syrphidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Africa, North America
- Also known as
- Yellow-haired sun fly
Where the facts come from
- Myathropa florea (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Anevrisme. CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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