Native Drone Fly

Eristalinus punctulatus · Order: Diptera · Family: Syrphidae

Also called: Australian Drone Fly

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Native Drone Fly
Photo: Rolf Lawrenz, CC BY

Adults are seen most of the year, with a strong peak in the summer months of November to January. Males have eyes that meet in the middle, while females have separated eyes, and both sexes have spotted eyes. The species occurs throughout Australia and has also been reported from New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Males have holoptic eyes and females have dichoptic eyes; both have spotted eyes.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Adults are present almost year-round, peaking in the summer months.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Peak adult activity occurs in the summer period of November to January.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Native to Australia, with records from New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Syrphidae)

Common Drone FlyCommon Drone FlyEristalis tenaxHarmlessMarmalade Hover FlyMarmalade Hover FlyEpisyrphus balteatusMargined CalligrapherMargined CalligrapherToxomerus marginatusEastern CalligrapherEastern CalligrapherToxomerus geminatusYellow-haired Sun FlyYellow-haired Sun FlyMyathropa floreaThick-legged Hover FlyThick-legged Hover FlySyritta pipiens

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eristalinus_punctulatus

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.