Arctic Flower Fly vs European Corn Borer Egg Parasitoid

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Arctic Flower Fly European Corn Borer Egg Parasitoid
Scientific Name Platycheirus melanopsis Trichogramma ostriniae
Order Diptera Hymenoptera
Family Syrphidae Trichogrammatidae
Size 5-8 mm 0.3-0.5 mm
Habitat Meadows Farmland
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Arctic Canada, Alaska, Greenland, northern Scandinavia, Siberia Asia, North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Arctic Flower Fly

A small hover fly with a dark body and distinctive pale facial markings. It is an important pollinator of Arctic wildflowers. Larvae are predatory on aphids in tundra vegetation.

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Did You Know?

This hover fly is one of the most important pollinators in the High Arctic where bees are scarce or absent.

European Corn Borer Egg Parasitoid

A tiny egg parasitoid wasp native to Asia and introduced to North America for corn borer control. It searches corn leaves methodically for host eggs.

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Did You Know?

It preferentially attacks the European corn borer over most other moth species, making it highly targeted.