Bug FAQNarrow-banded Pond Fly
Sericomyia militaris · Order: Diptera · Family: Syrphidae
Adult narrow-banded pond flies are 11.7 to 17.1 mm long and are mostly black with narrow yellow markings on the abdomen. They are common across northern North America, often seen hovering around flowers where they sip nectar and pollen. The larvae are called rat-tailed maggots because they have a long breathing tube at the rear.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Mostly black with narrow yellow abdominal markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
A common syrphid fly found throughout northern North America. Frequently seen hovering around flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults feed on nectar and pollen from flowers. Larvae are rat-tailed maggots with a long posterior breathing tube.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are hover flies that feed on flower nectar and pollen.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Native to northern North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Syrphid flies are also called hover flies or flower flies.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 20 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Maine, Alaska, Minnesota, Vermont, Michigan, Colorado, New Hampshire, New York.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do narrow-banded pond flies look like?
They are mostly black with narrow yellow markings on the abdomen and are about 12 to 17 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where are they usually found?
They are common across northern North America and are often seen hovering around flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
What do the larvae look like?
The larvae are called rat-tailed maggots because they have a long breathing tube at the rear.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Syrphidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sericomyia_militaris
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.