Spotted-eye Hover Fly vs Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Spotted-eye Hover Fly Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Scientific Name Eristalinus taeniops Papilio glaucus
Order Hymenoptera Lepidoptera
Family Syrphidae Papilionidae
Size 12-16 mm 79-140 mm wingspan
Habitat Wetlands Rivers & Streams
Diet Nectar Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Throughout Africa North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Spotted-eye Hover Fly

A large hover fly with distinctively striped compound eyes and a bee-like body. It is an excellent pollinator found throughout Africa.

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Did You Know?

Its larvae are rat-tailed maggots that breathe through a telescoping siphon while living in stagnant water.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

A large yellow butterfly with bold black tiger stripes and blue and orange markings on the hindwing margins. Females can occur in a dark morph mimicking the toxic pipevine swallowtail.

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Did You Know?

The caterpillar has large false eyespots and can evert an orange forked gland called an osmeterium that emits a foul smell to deter predators.