Bug FAQBald-faced Hornet Fly
Spilomyia fusca · Order: Diptera · Family: Syrphidae
Adult Bald-faced Hornet Flies are often seen on flowers where they sip nectar and collect pollen for protein. Their larvae develop in moist environments such as rot holes in trees. The species occurs in eastern North America, including Canada and the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults are called flower flies because they are frequently found on flowers feeding on nectar and pollen.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Larvae are short-tailed and live in moist places like rot holes in trees.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults obtain energy from nectar and protein from pollen on flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Hoverflies can hover, staying almost motionless in flight.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Found in eastern North America. Recorded in Canada and the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 21 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Vermont, Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do adult Bald-faced Hornet Flies eat?
They feed on flower nectar for energy and collect pollen for protein.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the geographic range of this species?
It is found in eastern North America, including Canada and the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Syrphidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spilomyia_fusca
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 2026-10-22.