Bug FAQBlack-banded Hover Fly
Episyrphus viridaureus · Order: Diptera · Family: Syrphidae
The black-banded hoverfly is orange-yellow with narrow dark bands on its abdomen and a black metallic shield on the upper thorax, while its eyes are dark purple with a metallic blue spot on the forehead. It measures up to 35 mm, but most individuals are 10 to 20 mm long. It lives in disturbed or suburban areas, is found along the east coast of Australia and in parts of Southeast Asia, and its larvae feed on aphids such as Aphis gossypii.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The body is orange-yellow with narrow dark bands on the abdomen. Between the dark purple eyes there is a metallic blue area on the forehead.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults can reach up to 35 mm, but most are between 10 and 20 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are comfortable in disturbed or suburban environments.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females lay eggs on plants like Ageratum houstonianum and Sonchus oleraceus.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They occur on the east coast of Australia from northern Queensland to south of Sydney. They are also recorded from Malaysia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, India and Southeast Asia.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the larvae eat?
The larvae feed on aphids such as Aphis gossypii and other listed species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where do they lay their eggs?
Females lay eggs on plants like Ageratum houstonianum and Sonchus oleraceus.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I recognize a black-banded hoverfly?
Look for an orange-yellow body with narrow dark bands on the abdomen, a black metallic shield on the upper thorax, and a metallic blue spot between the dark purple eyes.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Syrphidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episyrphus_viridaureus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.