Bug FAQClubbed General
Stratiomys chamaeleon · Order: Diptera · Family: Stratiomyidae
The clubbed general is a 14 to 15.5 mm soldier fly with a glossy black male body marked with yellow spots and distinctive yellow-tinged scutellum and legs. It lives in moist habitats such as umbellifer patches, freshwater pond margins, spring pools and tufa-rich flushes, and flies from late June to mid-August, feeding on nectar. Its range is Palearctic, common in southern Europe and parts of Asia, but it is very rare and endangered in Britain.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males are glossy black with yellow spots, a face covered in greyish hair and a small triangular patch of yellow hairs.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure between 14 and 15.5 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are found in moist places on umbellifers and at the edges of freshwater ponds, spring pools, and semi-saline sites. In Britain the larvae develop in tufa-rich flush systems.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults feed on nectar, mainly from umbellifer flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Their flight period runs from late June through mid-August, peaking in July.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
In Britain its range is very restricted and it is considered endangered.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Stratiomys chamaeleon, known as the clubbed general, is a European soldier fly species.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
When can I see adult clubbed generals?
Adults fly from late June to mid-August, with most sightings in July.
Source: Wikipedia
What do adult clubbed generals eat?
They feed on nectar, especially from umbellifer flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does the clubbed general live?
It inhabits moist areas on umbellifers, pond margins, spring pools and tufa-rich flushes, and is found across the Palearctic region.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Stratiomyidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratiomys_chamaeleon
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.