Thick-legged hoverfly
The thick-legged hoverfly is a small, slim fly that zips from flower to flower. Its back legs are extra thick, which gives it its name. It is one of the most common hoverflies of all, and you can meet it in almost any garden with flowers.
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Fun facts
Behind its head it has two small white spots shaped like little wedges.
The boys' huge eyes touch each other at the front of the head. The girls' eyes do not.
Its babies live in compost heaps and manure, where they help break down old plants and dung.
It is an important pollinator, carrying pollen from flower to flower.
In Europe you can see it flying from March to November.
Most asked questions about Thick-legged hoverfly
?Can a hoverfly sting?
No. Hoverflies have no sting, even if they look a little like wasps.
?How big is the thick-legged hoverfly?
Its body is about 6.5 to 9 millimetres long, smaller than a honeybee.
?What does the thick-legged hoverfly eat?
It drinks nectar and eats pollen from flowers.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Syritta pipiens
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Syrphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Syrphidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, North America
Where the facts come from
- Syritta pipiens (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 Alvesgaspar. CC BY-SA 3.0, 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 hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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