rat-tailed maggot

Description:

A bee-sized fly with dark abdomen and thorax. The thorax showed light banding and was densely covered with setae. This fly had dark femurs and pale tibiae. The vein loop on the wing (seen in pic#1) is a characteristic feature of the Eristalis genus.

Habitat:

Seen visiting flowers.

Notes:

This is a drone fly of family Syrphidae "The larva of Eristalis and related genera is the "rat-tailed maggot" so called because it has a long, rear, tail-like, extendable breathing-tube, enabling it to live submerged in organically polluted, deoxygenated aquatic sediments." Source: http://bioref.lastdragon.org/Diptera/Eri...