Marmalade Hoverfly vs Hump-backed Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Marmalade Hoverfly Hump-backed Fly
Scientific Name Episyrphus balteatus balteatus Megaselia scalaris
Order Diptera Diptera
Family Syrphidae Phoridae
Size 8-12mm 2-3 mm
Habitat Farmland Underground
Diet Nectar Feeders Carrion Feeders
Regions Europe, Asia, Africa Worldwide
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Marmalade Hoverfly

A common hoverfly with distinctive double black bands on an orange abdomen. One of the most effective migrant pollinators.

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Did You Know?

Migrates in billions from continental Europe to Britain each spring and its larvae eat astronomical numbers of aphids.

Hump-backed Fly

A tiny scuttle fly with a distinctly humped thorax that breeds in an extraordinary range of organic matter. It is forensically important especially in enclosed burial sites.

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Did You Know?

It can colonize buried or concealed bodies that are inaccessible to larger blow flies.