Bug FAQSlender Smoothtail
Epistrophella emarginata · Order: Diptera · Family: Syrphidae
The Slender Smoothtail hoverfly is a common North American species whose larvae hunt aphids. Females lay eggs on leaf petioles, where the emerging larvae can help control aphid populations.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It is a hoverfly known as the Slender Smoothtail.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is commonly found wherever aphids are present.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae feed on aphids.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
When ready to lay eggs, the female deposits them on the petioles of leaves.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 40 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, New York, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Georgia.
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
How does the Slender Smoothtail lay its eggs?
The female hoverfly lays eggs on leaf petioles.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Syrphidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistrophella_emarginata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.