Bug FAQEastern Flower Fly
Syrphus knabi · Order: Diptera · Family: Syrphidae
Adults measure about 7 to 13 mm long (0.28 to 0.51 in). The head has a yellow front with brown spots, and the abdomen is black with yellow bands. They are commonly seen hovering over flowers where they sip nectar and pollen, and their larvae hunt aphids in trees.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The front of the head (frons) is yellow with brown spots on the lower third. The abdomen is black with yellow bands.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Adults often hover around flowers to feed on nectar and pollen.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae are predators that eat a variety of aphids in trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The larvae prey on aphids in trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is an uncommon species found in the eastern United States and Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Syrphid flies are also called hover flies or flower flies.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 36 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Virginia, Maryland, Texas.
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
Where are Eastern Flower Flies found?
They are an uncommon species in the eastern United States and Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Syrphidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrphus_knabi
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.